Another Kind of Tomb
by Jaylee8301
Summary: Daryl Dixon/OC - A young woman stumbles across Daryl and Beth while they run for their lives after the prison has fallen. She takes them to safety, but Daryl soon realizes that safety comes at a price. Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello lovely reader. Thanks for checking out my new story. This story is set in Season 4 of the Walking Dead, after the events of the mid-season finale. I am starting out with my own stuff and might or might not follow the storyline for the back half when it starts airing. I'll have to see what direction they are taking. This will be Daryl/OC, no Caryl or Bethyl. It will probably be a bit more of a slow burn than people who are familiar with my stories are used to. There isn't too much info on my characters in the first two chapters, but we will get to know them better in the future. Let me know what you think:-)**

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Daryl felt his lungs burning and his oxygen supply getting less and less. They've been running for days after making their escape from the fallen prison. Maybe they've even been running weeks, Daryl lost count, so there is no way of knowing for sure. Neither of them has a watch. Neither of them has much of anything anymore other than the clothes on their backs and each other. Daryl at least still has his favorite weapon, the Horton crossbow. He clung to it like it was his security blanket. Even kept a bolt firmly grasped in one hand at almost all times now. He is no longer familiar with the territory around them, they had to be halfway to another state by now. They also met a herd a couple of days ago and since his body is getting weaker and less ready to fight with every mile they ran, he had to be prepared to slam that bolt into some brains every second of every day.

Daryl Dixon never gives up, but he was reaching his own breaking point. Finding shelter has been damn near impossible. Everything just seems to be overrun with walkers these days. It's getting worse with every week or he was just too sheltered at the prison and forgot that it has been that bad right from the start. They sleep on the ground, while the other one keeps watch, but never longer than three hours at a time. It wasn't safe. They are just doing enough of everything to survive. Eat, drink, sleep and then run some more. Their bodies are starting to give out. They've only had berries and a couple of drops of water for days. Not nearly enough to sustain them and keep their bodies going for much longer.

But they just couldn't stop. Daryl knows that somebody is out there. Somebody has been watching them on several occasions. First he thought that he was paranoid, but Beth told him, that she had felt it, too. Somebody was out there. If it is the Governor they might be fucked. Maybe he finished off everybody else at the prison and is now coming after them to close that chapter once and for all. Maybe it was somebody else entirely. Someone who could lend a hand and help them out. Daryl was torn between wanting to find out and not wanting to find out. It wasn't the walkers that did the most damage in the Zombie Apocalypse, it was the living.

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Everybody makes fun of the Doomsday Prepper,... until the Zombie Apocalypse. But Michael Wolff was no joke and everybody who'd made fun of him for going on and on about his apocalypse theories and his plans for a safe house and securing food and water, would now be happy to be a part of his crew. It had taken him 10 years to construct the underground house, with only a little concrete cottage directly on top, to hide what he was truly hiding, probably the best sanctuary this godforsaken world had to offer. It had taken him another couple of years of savings to erect the concrete wall, 6-inches thick, surrounding his land, protecting what he had been working hard for, for long hard years of his life.

Novalee Harris counted her blessings every day, even though there wasn't a day she couldn't wait to get out to do her daily sweep of the area. Michael had been her boss for many years. He owned a bar and she had worked that bar damn near every night for 6 years. She had always listened to his rantings. Well, not really listened, but she had been quiet and hadn't made fun of him, so when the time came for her and her brothers Alex and Josh to seek safe shelter, she was able to convince him to let them into his safe haven and let them earn their keep in any way possible. The price of admission was high, but hey, there is no price tag on safety, right? It's been almost two years and Michael's precautions were excellent. No one inside the house had ever come close to being bitten. Or shot for that matter. They had some run-ins with some unfriendly living creatures. Thank God 6 inches of concrete was protection enough against unfriendly fire. Going out to do the sweeps were the only times anyone was ever in danger, but they were necessary. Michael wanted to know if enemies were closing in.

Still, for all the things she could be thankful for, she couldn't help the sinking feeling she got when the gray structure of the huge concrete wall came into view. She valued the safety it offered, but she also liked her freedom. She loved having her brothers with her, but she missed meeting new people. In two years they had only taken in one new person and that had only been a couple of weeks ago. A woman named Carol. Michael's son Danny had stumbled upon the injured woman during one of his sweeps, one of the few days Novalee hadn't gone out herself and it had saved the woman's life. Nova never would have been able to carry her back the whole way like Danny had.

Some cannibals were lurking around their fort, the big metal gates opening would draw their attention, so they had to be quick. She gave the signature whistle when she was closing in and saw the little window in the gate slide open. She knew her younger brother Josh had watch, he barely ever worked the field and the garden behind the house. He didn't have the manly, muscly build like their older brother Alex or like Michael's two sons Paul and Danny and just ended up bitching about having to do manual labor, so he was content with sharing look-out duties with Michael, when someone was outside sweeping the perimeter. Nova started jogging, the handle of her ax that was attached to her belt was slapping against her thigh, while she gradually ran faster when the gate slid open. She noticed that the cannibals were stumbling towards the noise and she broke out into a sprint. She slipped through the gap just in time when their rotting hands grabbed for her and helped Josh shut the gate and lock it back up. One of those creatures hands got stuck in the gate and fell to the ground.

"Disgusting!" Nova groaned and picked up the hand, tossing it over the wall back to the creature that had lost it.

"Just wanted to give us a hand. Ha ha ha..." Josh was known for his bad puns. At 24 years old he was the baby of the family and still had a lot of growing up to do, but Novalee loved him fiercely and so when she rolled her eyes at his bad jokes, there was still a little smile playing along her lips.

"So how's it looking out there?" Josh asked when they made their way into the cottage.

"Quiet, but I saw those people again. They might come through here." Nova explained while she walked over to the hatch in the floor and climbed down the aluminum ladder into the basement. She nodded at Carol who was straightening up their common area. Michael came out of his room when he heard her voice, curious about her findings.

"What is it? People?" he asked when he came to stand before her.

"Yeah, the ones I told you about. I think they are closing in."

"The guy with the crossbow and the girl?" Josh asked before Michael was able to. Suddenly Carol perked up.

"The man has a crossbow? You didn't tell me about that!" Nova had a hard time not rolling her eyes at the woman. She wasn't sure if she liked Carol or not. She just seemed a little too nosy and after having taken over cooking and cleaning, she seemed to consider herself something of a second-in-command around here. It didn't sit right with Nova. Or maybe it was because she had been stuck with 6 guys for almost two years and just didn't know how to get along with other women anymore.

"Why is that of importance?" Nova asked the older woman.

"I might know him. A man from my old group had a crossbow. What did he look like?"

"Dark hair, kinda long, dark clothing. He is wearing a leather vest from what I could see." Nova saw a mix of emotions pass over Carol's features. Happiness, relief, confusion.

"Did it have angel wings on the back by any chance?"

"Good question. There was something on the back, but it was pretty dirty. Might have been wings, but I don't know." Nova shrugged.

"It has to be Daryl. But why would he be all the way out here? The prison is a long long way from here. You said he had someone with him?"

"Yeah, a girl."

Carol was stunned. "A girl? A little girl? What did she look like?"

Nova was starting to get a little annoyed by the questions, she just wanted to get back out and do her chores. "Blond. Long hair. Kinda pale skin. Looked to be in her late teens, maybe early twenties."

Carol frowned. The only person matching that description back at the prison was Beth. But why in the world would Daryl travel this far with Beth? Were they maybe looking for her? Had they tracked her down? Or did something happen at the prison? Were the rest of them dead? Killed by the disease she had desperately tried to stop from spreading?

"You got to go back out there and find them!" Carol insisted.

"Oh, do I now? Sorry honey, but all I gotta do is die one day, but that's it."

"Now, let's stay calm." Michael looked pointedly at Nova. "Listen Carol, we don't take people in. You were an exception, because Danny didn't want to leave you out there to die and we didn't send you back out because you are helping out around here. But we don't need two more mouths to feed."

"Daryl is a great asset to any group. He can track and hunt. He would help out more than enough and Beth is a farmer's daughter. She can help out with the crops and the chores. Please Michael. Your sons and Alex are working themselves to the bones out there. We can use the help. And you know how far the prison is, if they came all the way here. Something must have happened."

Michael took a moment to think about it. If Carol knew those people they probably could be trusted. If they were injured it would be wrong not to help. At least they could patch them up, feed them for a couple of days and send them on their way if things didn't work out.

"Alright" he nodded at the two women, before settling his gaze on his former employee. "You go back out tomorrow and try to find them, bring them back here."

"Since when am I your fucking errand boy? She wants them so bad, she can go find them herself." Nova argued. She'd go back out anyway, she needed her time away from all the testosterone, but she hated to be treated like the help.

"Nova, it's decided. Carol is still hurt, she can't walk too far and you know the territory better. You're doing it." Michael used his firm boss-voice. The decision was final. Nova would have to actively search for the guy and the girl. She hoped that they were indeed coming closer, because she wasn't a tracker and wouldn't even know where to start looking. She had stumbled across them by accident in the past 10 days, staying hidden and watching them through her binoculars, while one of them slept and the other one kept a lookout. The second time they had started looking around, like they knew someone was watching them. Then they had taken off in another direction, away from their sanctuary, but it looked like they had doubled-back, as they had been closer again today.

"Hope they won't be as entitled as the new Queen Bee." Nova muttered, making her younger brother snicker, when they made their way back up. It was Nova's turn to thresh the quinoa the boys had harvested. Today she'd have the most fun ever doing it. She'd just imagine the quinoa to be Carol's face.

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	2. Chapter 2

"Run! Don't look at me, Beth, just run! Just a little more!" Daryl was panting hard, pushing Beth to keep going. They were in no state to fight off the small herd of walkers they had come across. Usually it wouldn't have been too much of a problem. It was only 7 walkers, but Daryl was barely able to gather the strength to pull back the string on his crossbow to get it ready to fire. Beth only had his knife and he was sure she wouldn't have the strength to pull it back out of a skull, maybe not even enough to embed it into walker brains in the first place. Their only option was running, running and running.

Daryl had picked up a trail that morning. The tracks had to belong to the person that had been watching them. Apparently not a very careful person or someone who knew anything about tracking and being light on their feet. Daryl was dead-set on finding and confronting whoever it was. If it was the Governor he would find it in himself and somehow gather all the strength he had left to put an end to that tyrants miserable existence. He was sick of running. He just wanted to find a place safe enough for Beth and himself to rest up for a couple of days, but these past couple of days they had found themselves far away from any houses. There were just fields and woods and they could never be sure where walkers would be lurking.

But maybe they were just imagining it? Maybe they had imagined the herd, too? They were both severely dehydrated and exhausted. Daryl didn't feel like himself anymore. Like he was wrapped in some sort of fuzzy cloud he couldn't get out of. Was his vision blurring? His knees were buckling. He stumbled and he thought he saw Beth fall to the ground in front of him. He heard a dull thump and suddenly everything was black.

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Novalee had been out walking for an hour. Her trusty axe was attached to her belt and the binoculars where dangling in front of her belly. She was getting closer to where she had spotted the guy and the girl the day before. She decided to get up high and see if she would be able to spot them. She climbed up into a tree and settled on a sturdy branch before she held the binoculars up to her eyes to scope out the area. She checked out the area to her left first, then the area right in front of her before moving her sights over to the right side. That's when she thought she'd caught a flash of bright blonde hair. She focused on the spot, but there was nothing there. She thought about whether or not it was worth to check it out.

"Well here goes nothing. They're just gonna send me looking for them again tomorrow if I don't find them today. Might as well go check out that spot." She muttered to herself while she prepared to climb down the tree again.

She carefully made her way through the tall weeds. She was nervous, you could barely see shit in those fields, cannibals could attack out of nowhere. She looked around again while she took another step and startled, when her boot connected with something solid on the ground. She looked down and her heart started beating faster when she noticed that it was a crossbow. She brushed some weeds to the side with her arm and her breath hitched, because there they were, the guy and the girl, passed out, laying sprawled out side by side on the ground. The guy still had an arrow in his hand.

Nova bent down and picked up the crossbow before she stepped up to the two unconscious people. They didn't even look to be breathing, so she crouched between them and held a hand to each of their necks. Faint pulses met her fingers and she was relieved that they were alive. But how the fuck was she going to get them all the way back to their land? It was a couple of miles away and she wasn't the incredible Hulk who could lug them over their shoulders and drag them bag to camp. She also didn't feel right to leave them behind to get the guys. They were unconscious and cannibals could be nearby. She'd just have to wait until one of them came to and watch out for the human flesh-eating creatures.

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Daryl felt like an elephant was sitting on his head. He didn't even move and his head hurt like hell. He'd never had a headache this bad. He squinted against the sunlight, when he opened his eyes, groaning at the pain the brightness was causing. He blinked several times and slowly moved his head to the side.

"Beth..." he croaked when he saw his unconscious companion on the ground next to him.

"Forget it, man. She's out like a fucking light." he heard an unfamiliar throaty voice to his left. He whipped his head around, wincing at the pain it caused him. He was ready to pounce, one of his trusty old bolts clutched in his right hand. "Woah, easy tiger. Don't need you passing out again."

The woman held up both hands, signaling that she wasn't about to harm them. She could have easily done that while they'd been out cold. Daryl sagged back to the ground a little, but kept his eyes firmly on the woman who had his crossbow leaning against her leg. "The fuck are you? You with the Governor?"

"Who?" She frowned, thinking that the man was talking nonsense. "Anyway, you're Daryl right? And that's Beth?"

Daryl pressed his hand against his forehead and shook his head in confusion. Was he hallucinating? Why would this stranger know their names? "What? Why do you know that?" he groaned while his head continued pounding.

"Take it easy, alright, just wanna show you something." Nova carefully moved her hand to her belt and unsheathed the knife Carol had given her and held it closer to his face, so he could see. "You recognize this?"

Daryl instantly knew whose knife that was and his blood ran cold. "The fuck did ya do to her?"

"Took her in, patched her up, gave her a safe place to live. Same thing we're gonna do for you two, as soon as you're ready to keep walking. She figured a guy with the crossbow and a blonde girl in two would be you. Send me out to get you."

"You watched us." Daryl knew for sure now that they hadn't imagined it. Unless he had fallen into a coma and the whole thing was just a figment of his imagination.

"Yeah, came across you early last week. Just watched out where you were headed, tried to figure out if you were dangerous or not. We've had some incidents. Carol said you could be trusted. Hope she wasn't lying."

"Why should we trust you? Ya could have taken her hostage or something, tortured her for info..." Daryl eyed the stranger, she didn't look very menacing. He figured she was about 5'4", athletic build, big brown eyes, long messy brunette locks, some blonde strands were peeking out between the dark hair here and there. The only thing menacing was her axe and that was not even in her hands right now. But he knew better than to trust a pretty face. The governor had young girls with them, too.

"Guess you gotta make up your mind on that one. Keep running yourself ragged or come with me, reunite with your girlfriend and have safe shelter, food, water and so on."

"Ain't ma girlfriend." Even in his current state it was important to Daryl to state that fact. Why, he didn't even know himself. There was no rational explanation for it. It had slipped out so fast, there was no way from keeping it from happening.

"I get it, she's intense." Nova laughed to herself and shrugged off her backpack, while Daryl watched her warily. She got out a bottle of water and some flatbread and handed it to him. "Here, go slow or you'll make yourself sick. If blondie doesn't wake up soon we're gonna have to drag her ass back."

"Didn't say we would be coming with you." Daryl said, but accepted the bread and the water. He had to force himself not to gulp down the whole bottle. The cool liquid felt so good going down his dry throat, he wanted to revel in that feeling forever. He knew his stomach would revolt, though, if he went overboard. He tore off a chunk of bread and chewed slowly, while the strange girl kneeled next to Beth and checked her pulse again.

"Don't touch her. I'll take care of her." Daryl growled and slowly got on his knees and scooted over to Beth. He carefully lifted her head and tried to pour some water into her mouth. "Ya got a name?"

"Doesn't everybody?" She scoffed, but quickly remembered that bitching won't get him to trust her. "Novalee. Call me Nova. My friend Danny came across your friend Carol like two weeks ago. Her leg was torn up bad. Took her in and made sure she would survive. Would have sent her back out, but Michael likes her and she helps out."

"So you got a group?"

"I guess, yeah. The bunker belongs to Michael, my boss. Or former boss. It's him, his two sons and me and my two brothers. And now Carol. And the two of you. You gotta come, man. You won't survive much longer out here. There's nothing around other than our place. Your on the outskirts of Lincolnton. Couple miles that way and your entering South Carolina."

"Shit, didn't think we ran that far." Daryl muttered and was relieved when finally Beth started sputtering and coughing, coming out of her passed out state.

"Looks like we can get Blondie ready to travel."

"Still didn't say anything about coming with ya."

"Oh come on. Why should this be some sort of trap? You got nothing of value. If I wanted to hurt you just for kicks I could have done that by now. Want me to go and get Carol? Well tough luck, she's too chicken to get back out here. So what do you say?"

Daryl didn't say anything, he kept his attention on Beth while she came to. She was still out of it. Her head lolled around and he could barely get her to drink anything. He knew then that he had to take his chances with the strange girl. Beth wouldn't make it if they didn't get help and he wouldn't let her die if he could help it.

"Fine. But ya gotta help me carry her."

"Sure, her I can manage for a while, but not you. I'll take her across my shoulders for the first stretch, you make sure to drink and eat up. I'm gonna need you to take over eventually. I'm not superwoman." He nodded and eventually got up and helped lift Beth so Nova could carry her. He grabbed his crossbow when Beth was securely placed around Nova's shoulders, secretly admiring the woman's strength and willingness to carry Beth. She was athletic, sure but she wasn't ripped, he could see that it would be hard for her to carry the extra weight. It made him relax. Nobody who would wanna hurt them, would go to those lengths.

When his crossbow was strapped to his back, he picked the bottle of water and the bread back up and continued sipping and eating slowly, while Nova led the way.

"What's your set up?" Daryl asked after about 20 minutes of walking.

"Large piece of land, surrounded by concrete walls. Little cottage that leads to an underground bunker. My boss is a doomsday prepper. Always knew something would happen someday, so he built the whole thing out here. Large field and garden filled with crops that are easy to maintain and harvest and contain all important nutrients we need to survive. We have running water, cold and hot, we got power from solar panels. He started stocking up on stuff ten years ago. We have tons of books, games, music instruments, We got a TV and DVD-Player, we can charge MP3-players. We try not to waste too much power, but as long as the sun keeps shining in Georgia, we'll be good. When this whole thing started we had a ton of food. Chocolate, coffee, sugar, oil, freaking everything. But after two years that's pretty much gone, but that's okay, we got everything we need from the garden. We can even make bread and juice and stuff like that. Also good a lot of meds, didn't go through too much. It's really safe in there. Michael has his own room. Then there is the common area with the kitchen and there are two more bedrooms with one bed each. We all take turns sleeping in the beds and sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags. Sometimes I take a tent and sleep outside. The wall provides enough protection and I go stir-crazy underground sometimes." Nova explained. It took her a while to get it all out, because she was getting short of air. The added weight of Beth was getting harder to take with every step.

"Give her to me." Daryl stopped walking and they carefully transferred Beth onto his shoulder. "Sounds like a good set-up."

"It is. Probably as good as it gets. Although the prison sounded pretty safe, too."

"Was full of walkers. They always found a way in somehow, but it was fine. Safer than most houses."

"Walkers?" Nova frowned at the term.

"Yeah, the dead roaming around."

"Oh, we just called them cannibals. Cause they're eating other people."

"Those things aren't people." Daryl grunted. "How much farther?"

"About half an hour. You doin' okay?"

"Fine."

"Okay. Bet you can't wait to see Carol, huh?" Nova smiled, thinking it would be nice for him to see a familiar face.

"Right." Daryl answered curtly. She was right. He couldn't wait to see her, but mostly because she had some explaining to do.

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	3. Chapter 3

Nova took over carrying Beth again after 15 minutes. Daryl usually would have argued more, but he usually wasn't this weak. The bread and water had helped him to get back on his feet, but he was still far away from having all his strength back. Nova was walking at a brisk pace, despite having Beth wrapped around her, but she figured that it would be better to be quick about their trip back, than to slow down and drag out the minutes she'd have to spend with the girl on her shoulders. For the first time in his life Daryl had a hard time keeping up. He'd lived off of berries for days before, when he'd gotten lost in the woods as a kid, but back then it hadn't weakened him that much, due to the fact that he hadn't been malnourished to begin with and he hadn't had to run four hours at a time.

"What happened at the prison? Why aren't you guys there anymore?" Nova gritted out between clenched teeth, curious as to why they would have come all the way out here.

"Governor came with a tank. Fences gone, walkers overrun the place. Had ta skip." Nova had no idea who the fuck the Governor was, but the idea of someone having a tank scared the shit out of her. Sure their wall was able to withstand gunfire, but a freaking tank? She hoped that the newcomers hadn't led that guy straight to them.

"That it?" he asked when he saw the big gray wall in the distance.

"Yeah, that's it." Nova responded and Daryl felt his step quicken. That was exactly what he had been looking for. Nice protective walls that would enable him and Beth to rest for as long as they would need it.

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Inside those walls Michael Wolff was standing behind the gate and looking through the little window to keep a look out for Nova. She had been gone quite some time and he was starting to get worried, doubting his decision to make her go look for them. What if they had thought of her as a danger and had hurt her? His fears were put to rest when he spotted two figures coming closer in the distance. He grabbed the binoculars to make sure that Nova was one of those figures.

"Heads up, she found them!" Michael back into the yard after confirming that it was his former employee. "Alex and Paul, you take care of the cannibals close to the gate, Danny you run out there and help them carry the girl in here. Let's go!"

Alex and Danny grabbed their machetes and when Michael opened the gate they slipped out and hacked the blades into the heads of the undead monsters that were approaching.

"Clear!" Paul shouted, giving his younger brother Danny the go ahead and watched him sprint into the field towards Nova and their new guests. Michael had chosen Danny to go help them on purpose. Out of all six of the men, Danny was the strongest. He was 6'5" and had been an avid ice hockey player for most of his life. He was ripped and incredibly fast, he'd have no trouble at all with carrying back the young girl. All of the men were in great physical shape. They had all been athletes in their free time before the apocalypse and the hard work in the garden and on the field helped them in keeping up their physique. Well all of the men, except Josh. He was lanky and "prided" himself on having no upper body strength whatsoever. The only competition he'd ever won was "How Many Doughnuts Can You Eat in Five Minutes." At least he was quick on his feet so he had been able to outrun the mall cop who'd wanted to arrest him for stealing sweets from a candy store. Josh didn't call it stealing, he said he'd just been sampling some stuff. He had a way with words.

"Who's that guy?" Daryl asked when he saw someone running towards them.

"That's Danny, the youngest son of the owner of that little fortress."

"He a giant or something?" Even from a distance it was evident, that Danny was a very tall guy and built like a fucking brick house.

"Kinda, but a gentle giant." Nova told him, earning a strange look from Daryl, she wasn't able to tell what it was supposed to mean.

"Hm." Daryl just grunted. Gentle giant like Tyreese? He could do without that. The guy had always acted like he was this soft and sweet cuddly lamb, who never even wanted to kill walkers and then when Karen died he flipped his shit, wanting to go berserk on him and Rick. Daryl was a good fighter, but he never would have stood a chance against Tyreese. Good thing Rick had anger management issues himself. All that adrenalin had made him beat Tyreese into a bloody pulp. Not that it had been the right course of action, he was in no way condoning what Rick had done, but in that moment it might have saved their asses. Who knew how much out of control Tyreese would have gotten if Rick hadn't overpowered him. No, he really didn't need another Tyreese in his life.

"Hey." Danny wasn't even out of breath when he stopped and motioned for Nova to give him the girl. "Was getting worried."

"They were passed out, couldn't leave them laying in that field unconscious without protection."

Danny scooped Beth into his arms and then looked at Daryl for the first time. "Hey, I'm Danny. You're Daryl, right?"

Daryl nodded before he looked straight ahead again. He hated having to look up at people. Made him feel smaller than he was. Brought back unwanted memories and insecurities. Together they walked back to the gate where Paul and Alex had killed all the zombies that had been lurking around so that the four of them were able to make the trek back without having to worry about one of those things grabbing for them. They slipped through the gate and Daryl let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding, when the gate slid shut. He watched one of the guys hugging Nova and kissing her cheek. He figured it was one of her brothers. He looked around, trying to take everything in. He saw fruit trees straight ahead and a strip of the garden peeking out from behind the house. There was a lot of stuff in the yard. Tools for field work, baskets for harvesting, but also weapons and lots of other shit. His gaze settled on the house, when he saw the door opening. He froze when he saw Carol standing in the doorway, looking like she was about to cry when Danny carried Beth towards the house. Yeah, crying she was good at, Daryl remembered it all too well. Maybe it had all been an act. The more he had thought about it the more he had realized that after the initial crying fit, Carol hadn't been too upset about her daughter dying.

"Come on, let's get you inside and set up with everything you need." Michael motioned for them to go inside.

"Oh Daryl... Thank God!" Carol was reaching out her hand to touch him, but Daryl flinched and just stared at her hard while he went past her to follow Nova and the guys.

"What happened? What are you doing here? Where are the others?" Carol kept asking the hunter. Michael stepped in and held her back.

"Carol, it looks like they have been through hell and back. Leave them alone for the time being." He gave her an authoritative look and she caved and went to get some veggie broth from the stove for Daryl.

"I am Michael Wolff, these are my sons Paul and Danny. You already know Nova and Carol and those are Nova's brothers Alex and Josh. Welcome to our home. We won't bother you too much right now, I'm sure you're hungry and tired and we gotta tend to your friend, but once you ate and slept, we should talk about some things."

Daryl just send them all a nod, hoping it would express a greeting and his gratitude for taking them in. Michael nodded as well with a little smile, telling Daryl he understood. The older man left the common area to go check on Beth who had been put in one of the bedrooms by Danny. Nova motioned for Daryl to sit at the table while Carol brought him a bowl of broth, some bread and a glass of water.

"Where are the others, Daryl?" She tried again as Michael had left the room.

"Carol, leave the man alone. He'll tell you when he's ready. Let him eat in peace." Nova had initially thought Daryl would be happy to see Carol, but the frosty greeting had told her otherwise. Something must have happened between the two. Carol got kicked out by Daryl's group, they knew that much, but she had been a bit sketchy about the reason why. Now they might find out. Daryl obviously didn't want to talk to Carol right now and Nova couldn't believe that Carol couldn't leave it alone for now. Carol was about to talk back to Nova, but Paul quickly stepped in and addressed Daryl.

"We'll put some clean towels in the bathroom for you. You can take a shower whenever you feel like it. I see you didn't bring anything with you. We'll put some clothes that might fit you in the room you'll be sleeping in."

Daryl looked up at the guy and nodded again. "Thanks."

"I'll go look what we can scrounge up." Paul smiled at Nova, who patted his arm before he left for the other room.

"Okay. Carol, why don't you check on your friend Beth. You know some stuff, maybe you can help out there." Nova suggested, although it was more of an order. She knew if she left her alone with Daryl she would just start prying again. "Sorry." Nova muttered when Carol left, nose stuck up high.

"I'm used to it." Daryl shrugged and Nova had to smirk when Daryl ignored the spoon and started slurping the broth directly from the bowl. She usually hated bad table manners, but the whole scene had something weirdly adorable and innocent about it, so she let it slide.

"You guys been here the whole time?" Daryl asked while he looked around a bit.

"Yeah, ever since the outbreak. We've all known each other for quite some time. My brother Alex and Paul are the same age and went to school together and have been buddies for years. So we already knew the family when I started working for Michael."

"What'd you do?"

"Barkeeper/Waitress. Michael gave me the job after our old man died and I liked it so I stayed. He always talked about his plans for this place and all the things he was already putting away for the worst case. So when they packed up to come here I begged him to let us come. The rest is history."

"Lucky..."

"Yeah, I heard you and your group had been on the roads for months before you found the prison. Can't even imagine. Sure, I go crazy and can't wait to get out of here sometimes, but being in danger like that every minute of every day, no sleep, no food? You're tough sumbitches to have made it this far." Nova was impressed by their will to survive this whole thing. She didn't know if she would have given up under those circumstances.

Daryl scoffed lightly at her use of the expression he had used just weeks ago. He'd called Hershel a tough sumbitch. Now Hershel was gone. They had yet to grieve for the wise old vet. Beth had told him she wasn't crying anymore, but this had to be different. That was her Daddy and he hadn't been killed by a disease or a walker. He'd been killed by another human, just because he felt like making a point. Daryl felt fatigue start to overwhelm him and he quickly downed the rest of his broth and got up and Nova got the hint that he wanted to go lay down.

"Come on. I'll show you where you can sleep." Daryl followed Nova who led him to the bedroom. The nice thing about being underground was, that it was heavenly cool. Daryl couldn't wait to shed his dirty clothes and pull the clean sheets over his head and drift off to sleep. Maybe he should take a shower first. He stank and the sheets wouldn't be clean after he woke up. But the sight of the bed was too tempting. He just wanted to get in.

"Your friend is in the room right next to yours. Don't worry, we'll take good care of her. You just go ahead and sleep and holler if you need anything." And with that Nova left the room, closing the door behind her. Daryl shed his vest and shirt and pushed his pants down to his knees after unbuckling his belt and undoing the buttons. He sat down on the edge of the bed and took off his boots and socks before kicking off his pants all the way. He fell back on the bed and pulled the covers over him and was asleep within seconds.

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Beth and Daryl slept for almost an entire day. At least Daryl had eaten and had had some water, but Beth's stomach was still empty, so Carol tried waking her up every two hours and get her to drink something. Beth barely came out of her near-comatose state, but Carol managed to make her drink something. When Daryl had come out of his room close to dinner time the next day he'd asked Alex to point him towards the bathroom. He'd grabbed some clean clothes the guys had gotten for him and had locked himself into the small bathroom. A hot shower. They haven't had that since the farm. It felt like he had died and gone to heaven. He scrubbed himself good and made sure not to waste too much of the precious water, before he got back out. He felt like a person again after putting on clean clothes. Among the clothes the guys had given him were a black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. The shirt was a little tight, the sleeves extremely short, the devil tattoo on his inner arm was visible, but it was okay and better than nothing. Nova gave him an apple and some bread when he came back to the common area and he took it and went to Beth's room. He wanted to be there when she woke up so she wouldn't freak out.

He wasn't surprised when Carol followed him. She still wanted answers. That was okay by him, because so did he.

"Is it true what Rick said?" he asked without beating around the bush as soon as she had closed the door behind her.

"What did he say?"

"That ya killed our own. Did ya?"

"Yes." She answered without hesitation. "I had my reasons. I wanted to keep you safe."

"Worked out well, didn't it? Shit still spread. Never heard of an incubation period? People probably got infected even before Karen and David showed the first symptoms."

"I had to try, Daryl. I couldn't stand to lose any of you."

"So ya saying that those two lives weren't important? They weren't worth saving? You ain't a God. It wasn't your choice ta make."

"I just wanted to help."

"We don't kill our own. They were still alive. You murdered them, not even knowing if it would work. Don't even know who ya are anymore. Startin' to think you were never the person I thought ya was ta begin with." Daryl felt deeply betrayed by Carol. He had always thought of her as trustworthy. She'd been kind of the mama wolf. Making sure everybody was fed and taken care of. Rick had kept praising her for getting stronger over time. Apparently that praise had gotten to her head. He had considered her to be a good friend, had cared deeply for her on that level, he would have given his life to protect her and now she had betrayed everything he had believed to be true about her by taking two innocent lives without even being sorry about it.

"I'm still me, Daryl. I just wanted to look out for all of you. I would do anything to protect that group, just like you."

"Don't ya fucking dare comparing yourself ta me. Ty, Michonne and I, we faced a herd of over a thousand walkers to get those people meds. We did everything ta get those meds back as quickly as possible. Didn't see you out there helpin'. Just like ya didn't even help ta find your own daughter. Was just easier to hang back and cry and blame Rick for losin' her, when you didn't do your job of watchin' her in the first place. Andrea, Lori, Glenn, fucking Shane. Everyone was out there lookin' for her. YOUR daughter. What did you do? The night the farm got overrun. What did you do? Didn't fight like the others. Just kept blamin' Rick again, trying to turn me against him."

"You're being cruel, Daryl." Carol wiped at a tear that had escaped the corner of her eye.

"But killing two innocent group members wasn't? What if it had been me? Or Glenn? Would you have killed us to protect Rick and the others?"

"I don't know."

"You don't get to decide who gets to live and to die. What exactly makes ya better than the Governor now?"

"How can you say that?" Carol gaped at him, she couldn't believe that Daryl wasn't on her side, wasn't accepting her explanation.

"'Cause it's true. Rick might have saved your life once again, you know that? Might have died if he hadn't kicked ya out."

"What happened, Daryl? Why are you with Beth and all the way out here?" Carol decided to ignore what Daryl had said about Rick saving her life.

"The Governor came back. Killed Hershel in front of all of us."

"Oh my God. Hershel's gone? And the others?"

"No clue. He had a tank. Took down the fences. The whole place got overrun. Just saw Beth and ran off with her. Don't know who else made it. Place was crawling with walkers."

"Oh God. The kids? Lizzie and Mika? Judith?"

"Beth said something about getting them on a bus. Don't know. We haven't talked much."

"Why didn't you go to the train tracks? We were supposed to follow the tracks in case something happened."

"We got cut off by a large herd. Had to go in another direction. Got lost, I guess." Daryl shrugged. They had tried to find their way back to the train tracks, but there had been walkers everywhere. So they just ran until they were alone again, getting lost in the fields.

"Poor Beth."

"She's been strong. Didn't complain once. Just kept running until we couldn't run no more."

"She's doing okay. Just needs to rest. She should wake up soon."

"I'll stay until she wakes up." Daryl declared, hoping Carol would get the hint and leave. Fortunately she did and walked to the door. She turned around one more time and smiled at Daryl.

"I'm glad that you're okay."

Daryl just shrugged, not looking at her. "Wish I could say the same about Karen and David."

Carol's smile vanished, her expression hardening before she left the room, closing the door a little more forceful than necessary. Daryl wasn't bothered. He couldn't care less about hurting her feelings right now.

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**AN: Thank you for reading! Wow, this site is giving me SO much trouble. I've never gotten so many Error Messages in my life when trying to open or post. But I keep trying to give you guys an update.**

**Thank you to those lovely readers who already followed and favorited, hope you'll be happy with the developments.**

**For now I will keep the chapters a little shorter than I did with my last story. That is mainly just for myself while I get this thing going and develop a feel for the whole thing. I might switch back to longer chapters in the future.**

** Dean Winchester's Play Thing: I used to like Carol, but you are right, after Karen and David I just shut down and it made me think back to the previous seasons. She is pretty smart, she played the victim, the poor weak woman, had everyone do things for her and when she wasn't satisfied anymore, she tried to manipulate others to do something about it instead of taking action herself. Maybe it was for the better, because we have all seen what happens when she takes action. Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Daryl sure isn't happy to see her. Poor guy, she just blindsided him. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

** WayPastMyBedtime: Never say never;-) Maybe they'll show up in the future. Who knows:) Glad you like it so far. Nova's dislike for Carol might get even worse:D Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

** mamareadstomuch2: Welcome back! I am glad I can help you escape a little. That is why I write, to escape my everyday life as well. you know how overwhelming life with kids can be. After 16 months of being alone with him 24/7 mama just needs a break:D But I gotta admit, it's not that hard, because I am not working, so I have his naptime just to myself. Germans like to complain about Germany, but we do have the luxury of having the right to stay home 3 whole years with our kids. It's even written in our code of law. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I hope I'll be able to keep up the quality you're used to.**

** dragonsketcher85: Thank you so much for your review. I hope you enjoyed this one.**


	4. Chapter 4

Beth started to come to a little while later. Her eyes slowly blinked open, squinting against the glow of the lamp on the nightstand. She was disoriented and the lamp she was now looking at confused her even more. Where did Daryl get a lamp?

"Hey." she heard the familiar rasp and turned her head to look at him.

"Daryl? Are we dead?" Daryl had do smile a little when he shook his head no.

"We ain't. We got help. Someone found us out in the field. Took us in."

Beth's eyes widened in alarm. "People?"

"Don't worry, they're okay." Daryl tried to ease her fears. "They're six guys and a girl. The girl found us. She carried you back herself almost all the way. No folks who'd wanna hurt us would do that."

Beth looked around the dark room. "Where are we?"

"Underground. Safe. This guy who owns this, he was one of 'em people who prepared for the end of the world. Built this bunker. They got a garden and a field, trees. Kind of like your farm, but much smaller. They got everything they need to survive. Food. Water. They got fucking electricity from solar panels. Hot water even. And the whole thing is surrounded by a huge ass wall of concrete." Daryl explained what he knew, trying to get her to relax and trust that they were okay for now.

Beth finally noticed that she was tucked into a nice comfy bed and snuggled up under a soft blanket. She fisted the material of the blanket in her hands and pulled it even closer to her body as if trying to melt into it.

"There is something I gotta tell ya." Daryl continued. "Carol's here, too. They found her a couple of weeks back. Must have gotten hurt out there after Rick kicked her out."

"Carol is here?" Beth didn't quite know how to feel about that. She had always liked the woman. The news of her horrendous actions had been confusing to Beth. She just couldn't imagine sweet Carol killing two living and breathing people, and from their own group no less. Beth wouldn't go as far as calling her a mother figure, but they had been good friends. After Daryl had brought her back from the tombs, Carol and Beth had shared taking care of Judith and kitchen and cleaning duties, they had spent a lot of time together, not bonding with the older woman had not been an option.

"Yeah. Whaddaya think?"

"I don't know." Beth shrugged. Her head hurt and she was tired. "Do you think I could get some water?"

"Sure." Daryl handed her the bottle that had sat on the ground next to the bed. "But go easy on it. Okay if I go out there ta get ya somethin' ta eat?"

Beth nodded before she took a little sip from the bottle. Daryl went out to the common area, his hands fidgeting with each other. He wasn't used to being the new guy anymore and it made him insecure. He was happy to see that only Carol and Nova were around. Carol was washing dishes and Nova was pouring grains into a little machine, probably to grind them. She looked up when he came in and smiled a little, trying to make him feel welcome around here.

"Beth woke up. Hungry." He told her and watched her when she got up and walked over to Carol, giving the older woman a little push with her hips, when she was in the way and Nova couldn't reach for a bowl. Nova ignored the look Carol gave her and filled up the bowl with some broth.

"You want to eat some more, Daryl?" Nova asked, looking at him over her shoulder. Daryl nodded and before Nova could shove her again, Carol quickly handed her another clean bowl. "Thanks, Carol." Nova smiled her best fake smile at her. She just couldn't help it. Now after seeing how Daryl had reacted to her she just knew that something was off with the woman. She got out some bread for their two new guests and put everything on a tray and walked over to where Daryl stood and handed it to him. "Here. Tomorrow you can eat more solid food again. Just need to get your stomachs used to things first."

"Thanks." He looked her in the eyes with a little nod real quick before he vanished again.

"Not a man of many words that one, huh?" Nova said while she sat back at the table to grind quinoa into flour.

"No, he isn't. Don't let that fool you. He is very smart. He is honest, brutally so." Carol told her why she dried off a plate.

"I prefer that. Better than having people lie to your face just 'cause they think it's what I wanna hear so I don't get mad." Nova told her. She turned on the machine and the women didn't speak, but as soon as she turned the machine off Nova asked Carol. "So what did you fight about? Is he on your group leader's side?" Nova knew Carol got kicked out. She had told them that she had disagreed with Rick's methods, said that he had never liked her and had just looked for a reason to get rid of her. That he took the chance when others from the group went on a run, because they would have spoken up for her and would have made him let her stay.

"Daryl is on nobody's side. He's got his code, his morals, his own opinion on things. He does what he thinks is right. He is a good man. A very good man. Loyal, strong, selfless, generous."

"Geez, you in love with him or something?" Nova laughed quietly. When she looked back over at Carol and saw the woman blush and look down, her eyes widened. Holy shit, she was. Hm, that was interesting. Nova wondered whether or not the two had been an item in the past. They sure as hell weren't right now. Daryl had been very quick to correct Nova when she had jokingly called Carol his girlfriend. "Anyway, why is he pissed at you. And don't tell me he is not."

"I guess he wasn't too happy with some things I did before I left."

"Oh yeah? And what exactly were those things?" Nova grew suspicious. If Daryl wasn't on that Rick guy's side and had his own opinion, then Carol must have done something more than just to disagree with her former leader. Nova loved a good mystery, she loved solving them. She was just suspicious by nature, didn't trust easily and she practically smelled when people were talking shit.

"That's between me and my old group. None of your business." Carol slapped the dishtowel on the counter and left the room, efficiently ending the conversation. Nova just smiled knowingly. Carol definitely had something to hide and she would learn what that was sooner or later.

##### ##### ###### ###### ##### ###### #####

Daryl and Beth ate their broth and bread in silence. Only when Beth put her empty bowl on the nightstand Daryl questioned her about how she was feeling about everything. Beth knew he was talking about Hershel's death.

"I told you, Daryl. I don't cry anymore. I am grateful for all those years we had together."

"He was your Pop,..."

"I know. I grieved. All that time we ran, believe it or not, it helped me in a way. Cleared my head, blew off my frustration. I'll miss him forever. I miss Maggie. I miss everybody else, but I don't get to be upset anymore. We have things to do. We have to find the others that might have survived. We have to focus on that."

Her reaction surprised him. Surprised AND impressed him. Even he wasn't able to shake off Hershel's death just like that. It had been an absolutely senseless death. Hershel hadn't deserved what had happened to him. Nobody really deserved the way they died these days, but the thing with Hershel, somehow it had been more cruel than anything else he had experienced during the whole apocalypse. Beth was still very young. All the things in this new world had affected Carl, it had made him less human, like he had flipped off that switch. Maybe Beth had done the same in a way. At least there was hope. Carl had come back from it. In time, maybe Beth would too.

"Carol might come in soon ta see ya. Want me to keep her out?"

"No, it's okay. I don't mind. It will be kind of nice to see her again. Time is too short to hold grudges, Daryl."

"Time is too short to betray people you care about." Daryl scoffed.

"She did it for us. I don't condone her killing people, it was wrong and she should have had more faith. I think she is just lost. But like Daddy said. We get to come back. She will find herself again."

"What if that IS herself?"

"It isn't." Beth smiled, convinced that Carol was still the person she knew and cared for. Daryl had a different opinion. With other people you realize that they are gradually changing. Daryl didn't believe in people doing a 180 overnight. Carol had seemed to be the same person, there had been no signs that would have told him differently, until the day she killed two people and torched their bodies, blindsiding the whole group. No, Daryl didn't believe in people changing overnight, no matter if it was for the good or for the bad. That cold-blooded persona had to have been safely and deeply hidden inside that woman all along.

"You wanna go outside a little? Meet the group?" Daryl changed the subject.

"I don't want to, but I think I should. Can't hide in here forever." Beth murmured and pushed the blanket away from her body, surprised when she noticed that she was wearing new clothes. She hoped that it had been Carol or that other girl that had put fresh clothes on her and not one of the men.

"Alright, let's go. Don't be scared, I'm with ya." Daryl reassured her in case she was nervous about meeting the men.

"I know. I'm okay." She smiled and motioned for him to lead the way.

##### ###### ###### ###### ####### ###### #####

"Hey um, Nova?"

She heard the still unfamiliar voice behind her and turned around, smiling a little when she noticed that Daryl had the girl with him.

"Hey there. Nice to see you up and around, Beth. I'm Nova. How are ya feeling?"

Beth smiled timidly. She felt a little intimidated by Nova. The woman, while undoubtedly pretty, looked very tough and that was even more accentuated by her deep, raspy voice. She looked a bit grungy or maybe a little punk? Something out of a music video of one of those rock bands Jimmy had listened to back in the day.

"I feel okay. A little tired and queasy, though."

"That's to be expected after what you guys have been through, I guess. Do you need anything?"

"Just thought we'd take a tour. Introduce everybody to Beth." Daryl answered, hoping Nova would come with them and make the introductions. Daryl was just no good with that and he didn't feel too comfortable around the guys yet, either.

"Yeah, good idea. I'll go with you, gonna help take everything inside for the night anyway. Come on." Nova led the way to the ladder and climbed up first. Beth was the second to go up the ladder, that way Daryl was able to make sure she wouldn't fall and hurt herself.

"Hey guys, gather 'round." Nova called out, making the men look over at her. They noticed Beth and came trudging over, knowing that it was time for everybody to meet.

Beth blushed while she eyed the guys, they were so handsome, she didn't know how to act. She had to stifle a giggle when the guy with bright, gray-looking eyes and brown tousled hair winked at her.

"Well hello Sleeping Beauty. Nice to see you standing upright. I'm Josh."

"And he is a huge dork and an even bigger flirt and thinks he is insanely funny." Nova giggled and nudged Beth with her elbow gently. "He is my brother and that's Alex, our older brother."

"Nice to meet you. How are you feeling?" Alex asked politely when he shook Beth's hand.

"Good, thank you." Beth answered timidly. Paul and Michael introduced themselves and last but not least Danny came jogging up to the group, his big smile gracing his lips.

"Hey, you're awake! Great. I'm Danny." Beth blushed even harder and didn't know where to look and she didn't even know why she was acting so silly. She couldn't believe that after everything they had went through, a cute boy was still able to make her all shy and awkward.

Michael quickly glossed over the awkward silence that was about to ensue and looked at Daryl.

"Let me show you guys around the little bit of land we have." So the group took a walk towards the field and the garden and Michael explained what they had planted and how it was necessary for their survival.

"We have three main needs where food is concerned: Carbohydrates, protein and fat and exactly in that order. So I read up on the best crops to plant over the years in case food supply gets scarce. I focused on things that are easy to maintain and process after harvest. We got corn, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, cucumbers and more. Planted those fruit trees right when I started building the bunker. Not a minute too early as it turned out. That over there is the water tank. I built it to be above the building, this way gravity pushed it through the pipes and out of our faucets. Solar panels for electricity. We are lucky that we live in the south and the sun pretty much always shines. We still try not to go overboard. We still use a lot of LED-appliances. We still have a good stock of batteries. But the electricity allows us luxuries like movie nights, music, we can still use our cell phones, because we can keep them charged. Not for making calls obviously, but looking at pictures, playing games, stuff like that. We got about 200 books and magazines underground. Guitars, a keyboard, board games, DVDs, CDs, arts and crafts stuff, too. You'll find something to do at night, I'm sure. During the day we are busy with maintaining the crops. We can use all the help we can get, if you know what I mean."

Daryl knew he meant helping out. He didn't even have to mention it, Daryl would always pull his own weight and contribute. It was all he could do to thank the man for taking them in and feeding them. "I can hunt,... Bring back some meat if I find some game."

"That would be awesome. We haven't had any in a while. No one of us is good at hunting." Paul smiled sheepishly.

"I am a farmer's daughter,... was... I can help out, too." Beth told Michael, knowing instinctively that he was the Rick of this group.

Michael smiled gently at her and put his hand on her shoulder. "That is very nice, sweetie and we appreciate it very much. As soon as you feel well enough, okay? Take your time."

Nova watched the exchange, giving Michael a hard look he happily ignored. She would have to keep her eyes on Beth.

Michael continued with the tour and also showed them around some more underground and explained how things worked and what the rules were. Later they all gathered around the table with a glass of juice. It was time for the newcomers to tell them about what had happened to their previous home.

Carol, Daryl and Beth told the story from the beginning. How they met the Governor, how he wanted the prison, how Michonne had taken his eye, how they hadn't given her over to him and had fought the Governor and his troops. How the tyrant had gone crazy and shot his whole gang before he vanished for almost 8 months and then how he had shown back up with a tank, a new gang and Michonne and Hershel as hostages. The guys were horrified when Daryl told them how the Governor had taken care of Hershel. Beth cried silent tears, remembering the sight of her father bleeding severely from the neck and collapsing. Carol cried, too and carefully put her hand on Beth's shoulder. The two had shared a hug when they had first seen each other again after everyone had come back down the ladder. Beth was determined to forgive. Beth clutched Carol's hand, silently communicating her gratefulness for the comfort the older woman was trying to offer.

"Rick opened fire. All hell broke loose. Walkers were pilin' in. Almost got bitten maself. Got my hands on a couple grenades. Threw one at a couple of people. The second one went straight in the tank. The guy jumped out in time, but..." he hesitated for a moment, before telling them what he had done. "I shot him with ma crossbow. Bolt straight to the heart. I don't make a habit of killing the living, but he helped taking everything away what we worked for for a whole damn year..."

"I get it." Michael said, reassuring Daryl that he wasn't worried about him killing that piece of trash. "I would do the same if someone would try to take this thing down. That Governor guy, what happened to him?"

"Don't know. It was chaos back there. Beth found me and we just ran. Don't know who else made it."

"Any chance one of his guys followed you here?" Alex asked the hunter.

"No, I knew someone was watching us, but that was your sister. Nobody else with a pulse around for miles."

"You took on a freaking tank?" Josh was stunned. "Dude, remind me to never get on your bad side. You are fucking badass, man."

Daryl was uncomfortable with the praise and shrugged shyly. "I was runnin' on instinct. Had ta protect what I could."

"I wanna make you a deal." Michael said to Daryl. Carol had already told him that Daryl was a good asset and he now believed it to be true. It would be stupid of him to kick him out. "You two take your time to rest up and gather your strength. You are welcome here for as long as it takes. I don't know what your plans are, maybe you don't know yourselves yet, but let's just call the next week or two your trial period and if things work out and we all get along, I'll invite you to stay permanently, should you decide that you'd want that. Does that sound fair?"

"Very." Daryl nodded. He knew he and Beth would have to talk about their plans for the future and what they wanted to do about finding the others, but for now he was happy to have a safe place to stay and not have to worry about feeding himself and Beth. "We appreciate it, Sir."

"Thank you." Beth added with a smile.

"You are very welcome." Michael smiled brightly at Beth. Nova knew that look far to well and it worried her. Yeah, she would definitely have to keep an eye on Beth.

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**AN: Thank you for reading and a hearty hug and thank you to new readers, followers and favorite-ers.**

**Yes, I know it is still kind of slow, but that just serves the purpose of introducing the new people and getting all the different constellations established. We will get more Daryl/OC stuff very soon. I warned you this would be more of a slow burn than my other stories;-) Just hang in there with me.**

** xamss: Hiii there, nice of you to check this one out. Glad you like Daryl's reaction. I just can't believe that he will forgive her easily, if at all. He has his morals and he doesn't kill the innocent. He told Tyreese he wants to put a bolt in the person who killed Karen and David and I don't think his anger will disappear just because it was Carol.**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Poor Daryl, indeed. Thanks for reading:)**

** mamareadstomuch2: So happy you are liking this so far. Beth was so nonchalant about Zach dying, in my mind she didn't have a overly strong reaction to Carol killing those people, somehow, so that's how I wrote it. She's still young and I think she would be much quicker to fogive and forget than Daryl or anyone else for that matter. Thank you so much for reading. Love hearing from you. xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

Night came on and while everyone debated what to do that night for entertainment, Nova pulled on her leather jacket and climbed up the ladder. She liked listening to the sound of cicadas while she looked at the stars. She pulled out one of the last packs of cigarettes she had and lit one. She sat down on a bench outside of the small cottage and pushed her legs out straight in front of her. Soon she heard the ladder squeaking and seconds later, when she looked to the door, she saw Daryl coming out. She looked him over and scoffed out a quiet laugh.

"I don't know what it is, but you look weird in a sweater and that fact is just weird on its own." Nova tried to remember if she had ever thought that someone didn't belong in a sweater, but she was coming up blank. This was a first.

Daryl looked down at himself with a deep sigh. "Yeah, gotta go out and look for something soon." The sweater was warm and comfy, but he really didn't feel good in it. He would prefer to have his own leather jacket and his small collection of shirts. At least he still had his vest. Didn't protect his arms too well from the cold, but it was one of his last belongings.

"Good luck with that." Nova knew from experience that supplies were hard to find. She figured fitting clothes might be even harder to come by. "Want one?" She offered the pack of smokes to him.

"Hell yeah." He shook out a cigarette and took the offered lighter to light it up before handing both, the pack and the lighter back to her. He inhaled the heavenly smoke, finding that it relaxed him a little bit.

"Where's Beth?" Nova asked casually, hoping that she was surrounded by the boys.

"Playing Monopoly with your brothers."

"Ah, she's in for a treat. Josh has been trying to figure out the best strategy to win that thing since he started playing at age 8. Unsuccessfully so far."

"Heard him bitchin' 'bout your other brother getting Park Place during the first round." Daryl told her and Nova laughed out loud.

"That's awesome. He is such a little girl, he gets real pissy and bitchy when he's losing. I still remember the first couple of times we ever played. Every time we'd start a new round he'd declare: 'This round I'm buying EVERY street I land on.' and when that didn't work, the next round he'd cross his little arms and declare with a pout: 'This round I am not buying anything at all. That way I have money to pay you when I land on your streets with houses and hotels.' But of course that didn't work at all either. Alex and I almost pissed our pants from laughing every time."

Daryl nodded and they smoked in slightly awkward silence. Awkward on his side, he didn't know what to say. He had questions, but didn't know if it was right to ask already. Nova didn't notice. She stepped on the cig to put it out and sighed. "Gotta ask you something."

Daryl looked over and nodded, giving Nova the go ahead.

"What happened with Carol? Why did she get kicked out?"

"Not ma place ta tell. Ask her."

"I did. A couple of times. Said she disagreed with that guy, Rick? And when some of you went out on a run Rick kicked her out because the people that would speak up for her were gone."

"Hm." Daryl grunted, neither denying nor confirming what Carol had told Nova.

"That's not all, is it? I just know that there's something else going on. She's got this weird aura about her."

"Aura?" Daryl arched one eyebrow in amusement.

"Call it whatever you want, but something weird is there. She's not telling the whole truth."

"Gotta ask her about that."

"I will." Nova said, her voice determined. The two fell silent again and Nova enjoyed the sounds of nature around her and looked up at the clear dark sky with the hundreds of thousands of lights while she thought about the day. "Poor girl, saw her Daddy being killed in front of her and is still standing after all that."

"She's tough. Hardened, I guess." Daryl shrugged. "Ya said your old man died before all this?"

"Yes."

Daryl waited for her to elaborate. And waited. And waited. But Nova just didn't elaborate and Daryl hated prying, so he didn't ask her how the guy died or when. After another couple of minutes of silence Daryl tried again with a different question.

"What about your momma? She die during the outbreak?"

"No." Nova answered, but again she didn't give him more than that.

"Died before, too?"

"Yeah."

Daryl grew a little exasperated with Nova's monosyllabic answers. Now he kinda got why people got upset when he did it. It WAS like freaking pulling teeth. Curiosity spiked in him. About how long she would keep it up and also about the woman in general. The women back at the prison always spilled the beans right away without much asking. He wasn't used to having to ask many questions when he wanted answers.

"Got any other brothers or sisters?" He asked next.

"No. Just the two idiots downstairs." She smiled when she lit another cigarette and handed it over to him, before she lit one for herself. Daryl took it, their fingers briefly touching. He looked at the cigarette and back up at her, making her laugh. "I don't have cooties. Sorry, didn't think about whether it would make you uncomfortable or not."

"Nah, I'm good." He quickly took a drag, showing her that he meant it. He just never had a girl light a cigarette for him before. He kinda liked it without being able to analyze why. "Two years with those guys, huh? You with one of 'em?"

"Kinda personal isn't it? But since you're gonna notice anyway... No. Wanna ask if I ever fucked one of 'em next?" She wasn't offended, she'd worked at a bar she was used to much worse and she figured Daryl didn't mean anything by it, so she was smirking when she looked at him and saw that he had the decency to blush.

"'M sorry."

"It's okay. I had guys throw money on the floor right in front of my feet telling me to dance for 'em. That was offensive, you're question was fucking harmless compared to that."

"Damn." Daryl shook his head. That sounded exactly like stuff Merle used to do to women. He had treated them like worthless pieces of shit. Much like he and Daryl had been treated by their parents. Daryl, on the other hand, had watched his momma getting mentally and physically abused by his daddy. He'd seen what it had done to her. How much she'd cried and how it had made her drink more and hide out in her bed. Daryl had sworn to himself, ever since he was a little boy, to never treat a woman like that. Granted, he hadn't been the nicest person himself back in his old life, but he had never yelled at a girl for no reason and he sure as hell hadn't ever hit one. He'd drastically changed since those days. Losing Merle early on in Atlanta had given him his space to develop. He'd been embarrassed about the person he was and the life they've had, but Merle had never given him any breathing room. With him gone, he'd been able to become the person he wanted to be. Someone people looked to for help. Someone people could depend on. Someone people liked. Now that he always treated the women with respect, was soft-spoken around them and protected them, he could understand even less how other guys could be so damn disrespectful towards them. He wondered if she had ever encountered Merle at the bar she'd worked at, but Daryl couldn't remember a time Merle had ever mentioned going to Lincolnton for a drink.

"You get used to it." Nova shrugged, referring to the treatment she'd received from some of their patrons. "Since you asked me a personal question, let me fire one back at cha. You and Carol ever date?"

"No. Why? She tell you that?" He didn't think Carol would go around telling lies, but then again, he didn't know her all that well after all, it seemed. The thought of her telling these people that they had been a couple upset him.

"No. But she obviously cares a lot for your ass."

"Not like that." Daryl quickly told her. "Just went through stuff together. Whole group is pretty tight like that. Ain't nothing there like that romance shit."

Nova hid a smirk. 'If you only knew.' she thought. So the attraction was one-sided. Carol was in love with him, but he wasn't into Carol. Somehow that deeply satisfied Nova in the sense that Carol wouldn't get what she wanted. The entitled new Queen Bee wouldn't get the boytoy she so desperately wanted.

"How about Beth then? She's cute." Nova smiled. She thought the young woman and Daryl would make a cute couple.

"Hell no. Her Daddy would have beaten me to death with his prosthetic leg. He also had a wicked aim with a shotgun." Daryl actually smiled when he remembered Hershel.

"You have a nice smile." Nova complimented him casually, shocking Daryl into losing said smile.

"What?" he asked baffled.

"Your smile. It's nice." She explained once more and got a kick out of seeing him blush again. He didn't know what to say to that, so he just cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"Your accent's weird." he grumbled, making Nova almost choke on her cigarette smoke she'd inhaled, because he'd made her laugh again. "You're not southern, are ya?"

"No." she smiled before she exhaled the smoke and coughed once more to clear her throat. Again, no further explanation and it irked the hell out of Daryl. Why the hell wasn't she talking more? And why the hell did he find that so damn interesting?

"You from around here?" She asked him, turning the conversation back to him once more.

"Yeah. Backwoods north of Atlanta."

"Oh right, so you been hunting all your life?"

"Yeah." He only answered with one word, too. See how she liked it.

"Cool." Nova smiled. "It's awesome to have skills."

"You got any?" Daryl asked her, preparing for another monosyllabic answer. Which he got.

"Yes."

Daryl was prepared, but still he wanted to stomp his foot and yell at her to give him better answers. He vowed that he would never ever answer other people like that again. It was infuriating.

"Got any other hobbies?" Nova asked him.

"Nah, just spent most of my time outside hunting."

"What did you do before the shit hit the fan?"

"Was a mechanic."

"Cool. Had a family?"

"Just ma brother. He's gone now."

"I'm sorry." She sighed. Losing a brother was unimaginable to her. "Younger brother or older brother?" She asked next.

"Why does that matter? You got a favorite or something?"

"Just curious."

"Older brother." He replied.

"How much older?"

"8 years."

"Can I guess your age?" She asked and Daryl looked at her strange. He didn't feel like being offended when she thought that he was older than he actually was, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Fine." he relented.

"Show me your hands." She held out hers after throwing her smoked cigarette to the ground.

"The fuck for?"

"You can always tell people's real age by their hands." Daryl slowly put his hands in hers. It wasn't unpleasant, but still a strange feeling to feel her soft hands touching his.

"Oh I love that little star." she smiled when she noticed the tiny tattoo.

"You got tats?"

"Yes." she said and Daryl felt like squeezing her hands til she told him what and where she had them. "Hmmm, you look a bit younger, but I'd say you are 40 or 41. Am I close?"

"Yeah. 40. How old are you?"

"How old do you think I am?"

"Younger than me, that's for sure."

"Who knows, maybe I just discovered the secret to eternal youth?"

"Nah, ya got crow's feet when ya laugh. Ain't no teenager no more."

"Oh you charmer, you. I think I just wet my panties. You have a way with compliments." She laughed hard. Daryl was a hoot. She slapped her hand on his thigh twice and got up. "Thanks for makin' my night, Casanova. See you inside."

She left and Daryl heard the squeaking of the aluminum letter. He didn't know what to make of that whole conversation. Somehow she had learned a lot about him, but he still didn't know anything about her. He stayed outside for a while longer, replaying their conversation in his head. He didn't know why he couldn't stop thinking about it. He figured it was because her short answers had irked him so much. She was quickly getting under his skin, he was curious about her and he didn't like that one bit.

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**Thanks for reading! Hello and thank you to all new readers, followers and favorite-ers. Thank you so much for spending time on reading this. Just a little bit of Daryl/Nova interaction today. Loved writing it, it was fun imagining Daryl in that position where he is just not able to get straight answers from the girl.**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Trust me, I won't have Daryl forgiving Carol just like that. I really hope he won't on the show either.**

** mamareadstomuch2: Absolutely agree. People don't just snap overnight. Some do, but even then, there are noticeable changes happening beforehand. Well, what is Michael up to? It will be revealed sooner or later:) Patience:-p xoxo**

** MonkeysGoBoo: And I love that you love it!**


	6. Chapter 6

The next day Daryl already helped out with the field work and Beth helped Carol in the garden a bit while Nova did the daily sweep. The morning after that, Daryl grabbed his crossbow while she pulled on her jacket when she got ready to leave.

"I'm coming with. Wanna get to know the area better, maybe find us some game for dinner." His tone made it clear that it wasn't up for discussion. He was going with her, whether she liked it or not. Nova didn't really care, although she thought it might be nice not to be out there alone for once. She still got startled as fuck and a little nervous when she ran into one of those cannibals, or walkers, like Daryl, Beth and Carol called them. She had to admit, she liked the term walkers better. Daryl was right. Cannibals were people and those undead things weren't people anymore.

"You always walk around without any sleeves on?" Nova asked when she eyed his bare arms after they had left through the gate.

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"I don't care, if I had nice arms like yours, I'd show 'em off, too, but much easier to get bitten or scratched, isn't it? It's why I wear my jacket even though it's hot like a motherfucker. It's a bit of safety."

"Weren't wearing none the day ya found us." Daryl pointed out. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to notice her toned physique.

"Yeah, left in a hurry that day... just forgot about it."

"Ya forgot about safety?"

"Wanna go into the woods over there?" she asked him to change the topic. She didn't feel like him asking any more about why she left so hurriedly that she forgot her jacket that day. She wouldn't be able to explain without him asking more and more questions until she ran out of lies and had to fess up. Telling somebody was out of the question.

Daryl sighed internally. That woman just never wanted to talk about anything. How was he supposed to get to know her and figure her out or trust her, if she didn't open up at least a little bit? Although, now that he was thinking about it he found that he already trusted her for the most part, but he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind, because if he acknowledged that he trusted her, then he'd have to admit to himself, that he wanted those answers just out of pure interest. And he wasn't interested. No, he was just surprised that she wasn't one of those talkative women folk and he respected her for that. No interest at all.

_'Yeah right.' _said a tiny voice in the back of his mind and he quickly shut it up.

They came across a couple of walkers upon entering the woods. Daryl noticed that Nova's calm and cool exterior quickly went out the window. He looked down and saw that her fingers were trembling slightly when she unclasped the axe from her belt and her face screamed nervousness. Daryl took the lead and shot off one bolt, putting one of the creatures down before they even realized, that a potential meal had come closer to them. Nova took a deep breath to steel her nerves and let the other one come closer before she lodged the blade of her axe in its skull with a goosebump-raising sound. She shook herself when she pulled the axe back out with a wet noise, while Daryl took care of the third one with his hunting knife. When he was sure that they were in the clear he collected his arrow and looked at Nova.

"Haven't dealt with 'em a lot, have ya? It's written all over your face."

"No, as you might have noticed we live pretty far out and pretty secure from everything. Guess you could call it sheltered from the horrors this world has to offer now. We had one huge group come through, but the walls held them off and eventually they moved on. Other than that there are never a lot around, so yeah,... not really used to them." Nova explained. She was impressed how unfazed Daryl was by the whole thing, but he seemed to just have gotten used to it. After all him and his group had been living on the road for months. To him killing those walker things belonged to his everyday life, just like brushing his teeth did, she figured.

"Gotta get y'all some more practice. Never know, your little fortress could fall one day after all. Ya gotta be prepared for anything these days. Can ya at least shoot?"

"No, never even held a gun."

"Good Lord, woman. Seriously gotta change that. Guns might be a last resort, but If it could save your life, then it's a good last resort ta have." He couldn't believe that they hadn't learned any survival skills other than farming. Safety might be good and all, but being too sheltered wasn't good at all. They had to learn how to deal with walkers and the ones who didn't know how, had to learn how to shoot. No way around that. Daryl would make sure that they'd learn, especially Nova since she mostly went out alone.

When they got back Daryl went to look for Beth and found her in the common are on the couch, reading a book. "Hey." he greeted her, when he sat next to her.

"Hi. How was it out there?"

"Quiet, just a couple of walkers in the woods. Got some squirrel for dinner."

"That's good." She smiled. Somehow she had missed having squirrel. It reminded her of home, the prison.

"Have ya given any thought to what you wanna do? About finding the others, I mean?"

"I think we should go back and find the train tracks and follow them. Somebody out there must have made it, too. Maybe Maggie,... Carl, Rick... Anyone... Someone has to be out there from our group. I don't think we should stay here much longer. It's safe and all, but... I don't know." Beth didn't want to tell Daryl that she had started to feel uncomfortable around Michael. He kept looking at her weird and was overly affectionate. Always touching her shoulder when he was praising her for her good work in the garden. And he praised her a lot. Unnecessarily so.

"We gotta stay a little bit longer. The woman, Nova, she goes out there every day and she doesn't even know how to shoot or how to even hold a gun right. I wanna teach her before we leave, alright? At least a bit. Couple of days, a week tops. You okay with that?" Daryl studied her, noticing her hesitation, but finally she nodded.

"Okay, you know best. Another week tops. That's okay." Beth finally agreed.

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Unbeknownst to Daryl and Beth, they had had an audience. Nova came out of the bathroom after taking a shower. The trek through the woods had left her sweaty and she couldn't stand smelling like that. When she exited the bathroom she noticed Michael standing in the shadows of the small hallway that led to the bathroom, the bedrooms and the common area. She inched closer and saw him watching Beth. Again, she knew that look. She quietly went over and pulled him away from the doorway by his arm.

"Back off, Michael. She's just fucking 19 years old." She whispered aggressively.

"So? Nothing illegal,... even if it was, the rules don't apply anymore."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean that we have to lose morality, too."

"She and her companion are getting fed, clothed and they get a warm bed to sleep in. It's only fair of her to pay the price of admission, Nova. Wouldn't be fair to have only you pay, now would it?" Michael smiled sardonically.

"Only me? Oh so Carol isn't paying?" Nova narrowed her eyes.

"No. She's crazy and I don't feel like waking up to her standing in front of my bed with a knife. And she does a lot around the house, so she's paying that way." Michael shrugged.

"You know, don't you? You know why she got kicked out of her old group! Why?" Nova demanded that he tell her.

"I know. Threatened to kick her back out if she didn't come clean. But what she did is of no concern to you. I am protecting you and your brothers, which is exactly what you are paying for. So don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy what I'm offering." he looked back at Beth and licked his lips.

"She's a sweet young girl and she's suffered enough. They are probably not even staying long, they sure wanna find the rest of their group. There is no reason for her to pay for anything."

"This isn't a charity, Nova."

"Then I'll pay for her." Nova said quickly. She was determined not to have the young girl go through more bad stuff than she had to.

"Hm, interesting. But maybe I don't want you to pay for her. Maybe I am in the mood for some new currency." Michael grinned, making Nova sick to her stomach.

"You are the sickest fuck I have ever met."

Faster than Nova could blink Michael had her by her throat and was shoving her into his room.

"What did you just say? Wanna say it again, huh?"

"No." Nova choked out terrified.

"You should know better than to call me names, Nova. Your brother's survival depends on me, remember? You'll play nice, or I'll kick little Josh out. How long do you think he'll survive out there with that disease of his? Not to mention his lack of strength. Who knows, maybe he'll make it a while, but what about when his hearing is gone for good? He won't hear any of those cannibals coming up to him. He'll get ripped to shreds and you know what his last thought will be? 'My sister did nothing to save me.' Because trust me, Nova, before I sent him out there I will tell him that the only thing you had to do to save him, was to be 'nice' to your boss for an hour. So, what's it gonna be Nova? Are you gonna apologize like a good little girl? Or am I sending your brother out to die?"

"I-I'm sorry..." Nova choked out while tears spilled out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Some landed on Michael's hand that was still closed around her throat.

"Good girl. You know what? I accept your offer. You'll pay for the girl." Michael grinned and released Nova's throat from his grip. "You've been bad, Nova. You need to be punished. Drop that towel and get on the bed. On all fours, head down." Michael pushed her towards the bed and quickly locked the door.

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Something was off. He noticed it right away when he laid eyes on Nova late in the afternoon. She seemed different, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He watched her go up to her brother Josh, hugging him hard, kissing his cheek and telling him that she loved him. Then she went towards the garden. Daryl casually strolled closer to Josh, who was milling some grains into flour with a mortar and pestle while he kept watch through the window of the gate.

"Your sister always that grabby with ya?"

"Oh, hey Daryl. Yeah, sometimes. Like once a month, she gets all weird and does that. Maybe it's her special time if ya know what I mean."

"Maybe." It was a possible explanation, but Daryl for some reason knew that that wasn't it. "Hey, ya know how to shoot?"

"Yeah, me and my brother, both. Our old man used to take us to the gun range to get rid of our negative energy, or something like that." Josh explained and Daryl was stunned.

"And ya never thought it might be good to teach your sister with all that's going on? She's the one who's out there every fucking day."

"Guess it never came up." Josh shrugged nonchalantly and Daryl felt like giving the kid a good smack upside the head. They were lucky that Nova hadn't been killed yet. At least now he and Beth could leave earlier than anticipated. He'd show Nova some stuff, the rest she could learn from her brothers. Beth would be happy.

Daryl left Josh alone to go and follow Nova. He wanted to get that shooting stuff done as quickly as they could. Still he shook his head in disbelief. "Hasn't come up, I guess. Bunch of idiots. Not giving a fuck about their sister is what I call that." he muttered quietly.

"Hey, you busy?" Daryl asked when he came up behind Nova.

"No, not really." her voice sounded somewhat dull. "What do you need?" She turned around to face him and Daryl squinted, studying her closely, like an interesting insect underneath a microscope. Nova looked away, uncomfortable with his eyes boring into hers. Daryl was sure that something must have happened. He knew that haunting look her eyes held. He'd seen it for years when he'd looked into the mirror after one of his daddy's rage fits. But what could have happened? He'd been inside with Beth, while Nova had gone into the bathroom. The men have been outside all day. Nova hadn't come out until now. Maybe her brother was right and she was just having that special time. But that didn't explain why he suddenly felt so connected to her, because he just knew that fucking look so well.

"You okay? Something happen?" he asked her quietly, watching her quickly plaster a fake smile on her face.

"No, I'm fine. Just tired I guess. What can I help you with?"

"Thought ya might wanna go over some things. Just wanna show you how to handle a gun. How to clean it and stuff. The basics. Tomorrow we'll practice outside in the woods, far enough from here so we won't attract any walkers to this place."

"Yeah, sounds good." She nodded.

"I'll make your brothers help ya out. Beth and I are gonna leave soon and Josh said they knew how to shoot. They can take over teaching ya then. Can't believe they haven't yet."

"They've been busy taking care of other things, I guess." she shrugged and looked off into the distance. Daryl looked at her, noticing how different she looked when her guard was down. She always put on a tough act and then she also looked tough, but now her face was completely open and she looked so young and vulnerable, it caused a reaction within Daryl he wasn't able to name.

"Sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Peachy." she muttered, but Daryl wasn't fooled. Something was going on and he'd find out what before he left.

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**Thank you for reading! Hello and thank you to the new followers and favorite-ers. Thank you for your time and interest.**

**So shit starting to get real. Wonder how Daryl might feel about Michael's payment system.**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Don't worry, they will get closer eventually:-)**

** mamareadstomuch2: Ooooh, can't have you waiting too long then, can we? So here you go. Hope it satisfies some curiosity about what Michael is up to. xoxo**

** xamss: It's not awful to say that at all! Daryl/Nova is definitely gonna happen, so Queen Carol most definitely won't be happy. If I were Nova, I'd start hiding the knifes and anything flammable:D**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Can I come with you and Nova?" Beth asked Daryl the next morning when they were getting ready to go out to do the sweep and some gun practice.

"Why? It's much safer here, Beth and we might be gone for a while." Daryl told her while he gathered his things.

"But six eyes still see more than four. And when you are teaching Nova how to shoot I can have your backs and keep a look out in case any walkers are attracted by the noise. Please?" Beth's eyes were practically begging him to say yes and Daryl wondered why. Both Beth and Nova always seemed happy to get out of there as fast as possible. A pit started to form in the bottom of his stomach, a bad feeling slowly creeping in. Something had to be going on that he wasn't fully aware of yet. He wanted to question Beth, but Nova walked past them, telling Daryl to get going. Daryl looked back at Beth and nodded. "Alright, come on." He would talk to Beth later.

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"Your brothers are nice, Nova." Beth has been chattering away on their trek through the fields.

"Yeah, they have their moments."

"You were adopted?" Beth asked her and Nova rolled her eyes, hating that their brothers had a harder time at keeping their mouths shut than some women. She looked at Daryl, who had perked up at the chance to learn something new about the monosyllabic woman and shook her head in exasperation.

"Those two are also goddamn chatterboxes." Nova muttered grumpily and Beth's chipper mood got a little damper.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that a secret or something? They just mentioned it casually while we were playing one night, I didn't think it was a bad thing or anything."

"Not a secret." Nova just shrugged, but her voice clearly told both of them not to ask any further questions. Beth and Daryl exchanged a frown, both not getting why she was so closed off. Sure they had only known each other for a couple of days, but there had to be a tiny bit of trust there. Nova sighed internally and talked herself into being friendlier. It wasn't that she didn't like Daryl or Beth, she was just in a bad mood and when she was in a bad mood she didn't feel like talking much. Otherwise she didn't mind talking about things. The other night with Daryl had been more of a game. She knew he was getting pissed off with her short answers and she liked jerking his chain. She was just so delighted at having new people around, she had felt like having some fun with the hunter. And then Michael had happened and her good mood and joy at meeting new people had been ruined. He had been especially vicious after she had called him a sick fuck. She should have known better, but it had just slipped out. The pain she was in just added to her sour mood.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Just... I don't know. Rough couple of days, I guess." That made Daryl frown even more. He had kept an eye on her and hadn't seen any interaction between her or somebody else at camp that seemed like it could have ruffled her feathers. Was it him and Beth? Were they bothering her?

"Already getting sick of us?" Daryl couldn't help but ask gruffly.

"No, it's not you. I am thrilled to have you guys. I'm sad that you are gonna leave again, actually." Nova gave them both a little smile and Daryl was very satisfied by that answer. He had to admit that he had taken a bit of a liking to her and it bummed him out a little bit, that they weren't gonna spend much more time together. To hear that it was the same for her was kinda nice.

"You could come with us, Nova." Beth told her. "We'll find somewhere safe. Really safe."

Nova's eyes widened while she looked at Beth, shocked by the young woman's words. Did she know something she wasn't supposed to know? The way she had stressed the words 'really safe' implied that she knew something was up. Nova just kept staring at Beth completely speechless. Daryl watched the exchange curiously. He would definitely have to talk to Beth later.

"I can't. My brothers are here. It's where I belong." Nova said quietly. She would love to leave, but her brothers would never go for it. They couldn't. Not with Josh's condition.

"They could come, too." Daryl suggested, surprising himself by doing so.

"No, they really can't." Nova shook her head defeatedly. They couldn't risk taking Josh out of the safe surroundings where no walkers could get in. His condition had been worsening. He was losing his hearing more often these days. If it happened while they were under attack out there on the roads, there was no way for him to hear those things creep up or hear his family trying to warn him. They all knew sign language, but how would that work when they were in the middle of fighting the walkers? Not to mention the vertigo he suffered from periodically. There was just no way to leave that place and as long as they stayed there, Nova would have to pay the price. And she happily payed it if it kept her beloved younger brother alive. She didn't want to talk about it to them right now, she was still too emotional from her encounter with Michael when she had paid Beth's 'admission fee', she didn't feel like breaking down crying in front of those two. "We should get into the woods, we don't have all day. There's things to be done." Nova did what she was good at, changing the topic and striding off ahead of the other two. Daryl and Beth exchanged a look before they followed her so they could get the gun practice out of the way.

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They were back for a late lunch. Everybody sat at the table, except for Nova who remained standing while she ate her pasta with tomato sauce, leaning against the counter with her right hip. Daryl narrowed his eyes while he studied her. Earlier when he had corrected her posture during gun practice he had caught her hissing when he'd bumped into her thigh, but she had quickly distracted him before he'd been able to ask about it and he only remembered it now.

"You hurt yourself?" he asked out of the blue in the middle of lunch. He saw a sliver of panic pass over her features when Michael noticeably stiffened and waited for her answer. Nobody else but Daryl seemed to notice, because Alex just shrugged with a smile.

"Nah, she just doesn't have any manners. Goes stir-crazy and can't sit still. One of those days again, huh sis?"

"Yeah, I guess. And fuck you, I do have manners!"

"Making my point for me." Alex smirked while Nova just rolled her eyes. Michael looked over his shoulder back at Nova and cleared his throat.

"I'd like to have a meeting after lunch, Nova. You know, the usual thing about the sweeps and supplies and everything." he told her conversationally and Nova felt an icy cold take over her insides. He was seriously doing this. He would make her pay her own debt just a day after she paid off Beth's. She should have known. Deep down she had known, but it still caught her by surprise.

"Beth and I wanted to tend to the garden and Daryl wanted to teach me some more gun maintenance, maybe the meeting could wait..."

Michael didn't even let her finish and his voice got more forceful. Nobody else but the newcomers seemed to notice. That led Daryl to believe that it had to be a common thing for them. Nothing to even blink at. "No it can't. It won't take long. An hour tops. You can still do the rest afterward. Our safety is important Nova. Never forget that."

Nova sighed deeply and nodded. "Alright."

Michael plastered a smile on his face and looked back at everybody else. "I'm sure Daryl and Carol can help Beth with the garden. Josh you take over milling and Alex, Paul and Danny will harvest the cucumbers and potatoes this afternoon. Questions?"

"No sir." Danny shook his head before he got up and took his plate to the sink. He stopped by Nova and put his arms around her shoulders and whispered in her ear before he gave her a kiss on the cheek and left for the field while Nova went to Michael's "office". Danny's older brother Paul snickered when he saw Daryl watch the exchange with interest.

"Danny's had a crush on Nova for all his life. So don't be surprised when he gets affectionate with her." he explained.

Daryl looked at Nova's brother Alex and scoffed. "And you're okay with that?"

"Yeah. I know I'm the older brother, I'm supposed to be like 'don't touch my sister, dude. Hurt her and there's nowhere you can hide.' but we've all known each other since we were little kids. Nothing ever happened and nothing's happened in the two years we've been here. I think it's safe to say it's never gonna happen. Nova loves him, but like she loves Josh. Younger brother love and that's it."

"Hm." Daryl nodded and handed his empty plate to Carol who was reaching for it and followed everybody up the ladder to do their jobs. He went to the garden with Carol and Beth and Carol showed them what had to be done. Half an hour later Beth excused herself to go to the bathroom and when she got back she seemed a little distracted. Daryl studied her for a moment and wondered if he should bring it up in front of Carol, he still had a hard time trusting her, but hearing her opinion on things might not hurt.

"Yo Beth,... You don't like it here, do ya?"

"No,..." she answered truthfully after hesitating for a moment. "I don't feel good here. I can't explain it. I think it's Michael."

"You've noticed, too." Carol stated and Beth nodded, glad that she wasn't imagining it.

"Something off about the guy, right?" Daryl asked the women and Carol agreed.

"After Ed,... I sometimes feel like I can sense when someone is like that. And Michael, it's like dishonesty is radiating off of him. And he's got that air about him. He threatened me,... when I came here, he pressed a knife to my wound, making me tell him why I got kicked out by Rick. He liked that I would do anything to protect a group,... it was weird. The look in his eyes,... I think he might be abusive if he got the chance to be. I am watching my step around him and as soon as my leg is fully healed up and I can run again, I will leave. Another week or two, I reckon and then I will take my chances on the road again. I don't wanna risk the chance of giving him the opportunity to be abusive to me. I'd like to think I'd kill him first, but I dont know..."

"Have ya ever seen him act like that around Nova? Abusive I mean?"

"No. Actually I haven't seen them together all that much. They steer clear of each other most of the time. Nova keeps busy a lot. If she is not outside she is helping with something and then goes right to sleep. At least the time I've been around." Carol told him.

"I think Michael is hurting Nova." Beth said so quietly, that Daryl and Carol thought they had imagined it.

"What?" Daryl asked her to repeat it.

"I just have a feeling. I don't know, it's maybe nothing. Might just be paranoid too after everything. But I don't like him. The way he always touches me and looks at me. I don't wanna be around him anymore. Can we please leave soon, Daryl?"

"That's why ya wanted ta come with us this morning, ain't it? Ya 'fraid he's gonna hurt ya?"

"Yeah." Beth admitted shyly.

"Won't ever let that happen, ya hear me? Nobody ever gonna touch ya. I'll die first. Promise." Daryl told her fiercely and Beth nodded, smiling with relief.

###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ######

Daryl and Beth had discussed staying one more day. Daryl wanted to take Nova out to practice shooting one more time before they left. The day after that they would go out with her, but leave and go back to the train tracks. Beth had asked him to take Carol with them. That Rick just had to reconsider after the whole prison debacle. Daryl didn't want to care about what happened to Carol anymore, but he still did. Even after everything she had done, he didn't want her to fall victim to Michael, should their suspicions turn out to be true. He told Beth that he would think about it. He figured that they could take her with them, but if they found Rick or anyone else and they didn't want her, she'd just have to leave again. While they traveled the strength in numbers wouldn't hurt, but he hadn't made a final decision yet. Even if she came with them, he would make it clear to her, that she was in no way forgiven.

The next morning Daryl woke up early, having to use the bathroom. He sat up in bed and rubbed his tired eyes and wiped his disheveled hair out of his eyes before he trudged to the bathroom. The door wasn't locked and he didn't expect anybody to be in there, so he was startled as fuck when he walked in on a half-naked Nova who stood in front of the sink, trying to look at the back of her thighs. Daryl's entrance startled Nova just as much and she scrambled to find her pajama pants and oversized t-shirt.

Daryl didn't even have it in him to say sorry or cover his eyes or leave. He only vaguely noticed the huge tattoo that covered the whole right side of her back, he only had eyes for her thighs. Everything he, Beth and Carol had talked about came rushing back to him, when he saw thick, angry looking welts, perfectly aligned and parallel to each other running across the backs of both her thighs. It almost looked like she had sat down on a hot grill, but he knew instantly that that wasn't the case. The ones near her ass were surrounded by a nasty shade of black and blue, while the other ones further down looked pretty fresh. There was absolutely no way those were self-inflicted nor had she come by them by accident. He had seen those marks before in one of Merle's fucked up porn movies. Someone had taken a cane to her skin. Repeatedly. Everything clicked in Daryl's head and everything fell into place. And Daryl's vision turned bright red.

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**AN: Hello and thank you for reading and following.**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Now that the cat is out of the bag, I am very sure Daryl will do everything in his power to protect her:)**

** WayPastMyBedtime: I don't think he is quite as psychotic as the Governor. He just has special sexual appetites and found a good way to still get them. Evil and sadistic, yes, but probably not really Governor material:)**

** xamss: Uh-oh, Daryl knows. Now we just gotta wait and see what the fallout will be. How will his sons react, Nova's brothers? What are they gonna do about Michael then? Hmm, so much exciting things to think about, haha.**

** mamareadstomuch2: So there is your answer, Carol did sense something and actually got a little taste of it herself. And little Beth is sensing it too and just wants to get out of there. Even Carol is leaving when she is back in shape. Women just know things. They just sometimes don't want them to be true. xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I think I haven't mentioned how old everybody is before, so I'm not gonna force you to do the math and/or guess.

Paul Wolff: 32 years old

Alex Harris: 32 years old

NovaHarris: 31 years old

Danny Wolff: 27 years old

Josh Harris: 24 years old

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Michael Wolff was no joke. Every person who was more to him than just a fleeting acquaintance knew that. He always gave 100 percent, he never did anything half-assed and he expected nothing less from those around him. His sons knew that better than anybody. He was a strict father, always controlling, always wanted to have a say in things. Grades worse than an A were unacceptable. Not being the quarterback on the football team was unacceptable. Not being valedictorian was unacceptable. Not being a manager, but a lowly office clerk was unacceptable. Paul had been lucky. He was smart as a whip and never had a problem getting the grades his father wanted. But only because he didn't get into trouble with their dad, didn't mean that he was his father's biggest fan. He still spent most of his time after school with Alex and Nova at the Harris'. Gerald Harris welcomed the Wolff kids with open arms. He knew Michael was hard on the boys and that their mother was too powerless to stop him.

Danny hadn't been that lucky. Studying for school had never come easy to him. He had always had an urge to move and play sports instead of sitting down and doing his homework. He had excelled at sports, but had maintained the average grades of B's and C's. Mostly C's. Thank God Nova had volunteered to tutor him. She was four years older than him and one year younger than Alex and Paul. While those two had gone off to college together in Boston, she had had one more year of high school to finish until she left as well. Danny went over there every day and stayed until way after their study sessions if he didn't have practice. Nova had always been his dream girl. She was the one who had helped him get out of the house and away from his father every day and he was just enamored with her. Even at 14 years old Danny had been sure that he would one day marry her. When she had left Lincolnton shortly after graduation to travel the world instead of going to college, he had been crushed for a long time. She hadn't returned until five years later, when her father took his own life, because the financial crisis had made his company and himself go bankrupt. All their father had left Alex, Nova and Josh was a ton of debt. The house they had grown up in got foreclosed. The three of them had gotten a small apartment together and Danny had convinced his father to let Nova work for him at the bar. Josh had only been 16 and still had to finish school, so Nova and Alex worked themselves into the ground to be able to pay for everything without Josh having to get a job as well. Their youngest brother had enough on his plate already.

During all those years Danny had spent alone at home with his parents while everybody was gone, he had noticed his father getting even worse. He noticed how it affected his mother. There were rumors around town, that Michael had developed an appetite for some hardcore sexual activities, but Danny had always closed his ears when that shit came up. He didn't want to know what his parents were up to in the bedroom. Michael had approached his wife about trying something new in the bedroom. She agreed to some bondage and light spanking. She enjoyed it even, but Michael wasn't satisfied, he just kept wanting more and more. The sessions got rougher and rougher and soon he even ignored the safe word. The day after he had first drawn blood, Sheila Wolff filed for a divorce and practically fled the state. Her husband had become an unbearable and sadistic bastard. She had been sure that it wouldn't have taken much longer and he would have "accidentally" killed her. So she ran as far as she could. Michael explained to people that they just didn't get along anymore, but rumors grew louder. People had seen him at "special" clubs and events. Paul and Danny knew that it was true, they had accidentally seen some of their fathers equipment one time when Michael had been hospitalized for a couple of days and they had to bring him some clothes. They both had just looked at each other, immediately knowing that the rumors were true and that it was the reason their mother left, but they never talked about it, but it made their distaste for their father grow even more. When the time came to go to the bunker when people started eating each other, they had thought that being stuck with their father would just be for a month tops and they would be okay to go home again, but that month came and went and some day they just gave up hoping and did what their father told them and worked and worked and worked. They called him the general amongst themselves, because all he did was bark out orders. At least they had their friends with them to make it a bit more bearable.

###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ######

"Daryl... you can't tell anybody, please..." Nova stuttered quietly after she had covered up and now stared at Daryl with wide, fearful eyes. Her begging was futile, Daryl hadn't heard her. All he heard was his own blood boiling as murderous thoughts crossed his mind. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white and he gritted his jaw so much that it was as tense as the string on his bow before he fired off a bolt.

"Daryl, please..." she tried again, this time more panicked when Daryl turned around and stomped out of the bathroom and straight to Michael's bedroom. The still sleeping man didn't stand a chance. Daryl had him by the neck and had dragged him out of bed and down on the ground before he even realized what was happening.

"YOU. DISTGUSTING. FUCKING. SICK. PERVERTED. SON OF A. BITCH." Daryl punctuated his enraged yells with a hard punch of his fist. Michael's face was already bloodied and he grabbed helplessly at Daryl's wrist of the hand that was squeezing his throat. He couldn't breathe and the savage beating did the rest of making him unable to fight back.

"Daryl, oh my God..." Nova had followed him but was unable to do anything, she knew she would just get caught in the crossfire. Help was on the way though, Daryl's loud voice had woken up everybody else and the boys came running and stopped short and stared at what was happening. After the initial moment of shock passed, Danny grabbed Daryl and pulled him off of his father with all his might.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing? Easy, man!" Danny yelled over the noise of Michael groaning and Daryl snorting and panting like a mad bull.

"Let me go! You don't know what he did!" Daryl yelled and fought against Danny's grip on him.

"Danny, don't hurt Daryl... please!" Danny heard Nova beg in a tearful voice. Everyone looked at her with confused expressions.

"He is beating our father to a bloody pulp, Nova. What the hell is going on?" Paul asked her.

"What the hell is going on? You gonna fucking tell me none of you knows? None of you had even the slightest idea? Let me go, Sasquatch!" Daryl kept struggling against Danny, but when he didn't let the hunter go, he kept yelling. "Your beloved Daddy is beating the fuck out of her!"

Danny instantly let go of Daryl. The words were a shock to his system. He didn't even doubt Daryl, he knew that it had to be true. Paul's brows knit in confusion while he processed Daryl's words.

"Nova? What is going on? Is that true?" Alex asked his little sister, while she looked at the floor in shame.

"Show 'em. Do it. You have to. They gotta know what that sick fuck did ta ya." Daryl panted, urging her to show everybody the marks Michael had left on her.

"Nova. If you do that. The deal's off! I'll kick him out. He'll die." Michaels strained voice sounded from the floor. He still thought he had the upper hand.

"That's enough out of you!" Daryl gave him a swift kick to the ribs, making the older man groan in pain.

"Hey, stop it!" Paul yelled at Daryl.

"Stop! All of you stop!" Nova shouted, making all of them shut up and look at her. She was mortified about what she was about to do, but she knew it was over and she had to do it. She turned her back on the group. She took a deep breath and carefully pushed down her loose-fitting pajama pants, letting them drop to her ankles and gathered up her shirt so the results of Michael's cruel deeds would be visible to all of them.

Daryl was prepared, but the rest of the men collectively recoiled and literally took a step back in shock. Carol and Beth gasped and clung to each other. Beth whispering 'I knew it' over and over. Other than that it was deathly quiet for a split-second and then hell broke loose. Josh went in kicking and screaming at Michael while the others watched, still in shock. Michael succeeded in pushing Josh off of him, making him tumble to the ground. Alex helped up his younger brother, while Michael pulled himself up by leaning on the bed, but as soon as Josh was standing, Alex let him go and delivered a hard punch to Michael's already bruised face, making the man slump on the bed.

"Stop! STOP!" Danny yelled, when Alex delivered a second punch. "Step back!"

"Son, get rid of them. All of them. Kick them out, now!" Michael ordered Danny, but his youngest son was done taking orders. He went over to the slumped form of his father and yanked him up by his shirt.

"If I'm kicking anyone out, it will be you! Now shut the fuck up, you bastard. We'll deal with you later. Paul, get some rope or handcuffs or whatever. He enjoys tying people up? Let's see how he likes it when we do it to him!" Danny growled and dragged his father out of the room, past everybody else and shoved him on a chair in the common area while his brother ran out and got the rope. When Michael was securely strapped into the chair Nova knew that she had to fess up. Everybody was looking at her wanting answers.

"Why? Why did you let him do this to you, Novi?" Josh looked at her with tears shining in his eyes.

"It was payment. For all of us to be able to stay here." she sniffed.

"Please don't tell me this has been going on all along?" Alex looked at her horrified.

"Once a month... ever since we first got here... until now."

"Shit! Why? Why Nova? Why? Why didn't you say anything? Do you honestly think we would have let you sacrifice yourself for us like that? It's not worth it, we could have taken our chances out there." Alex shouted at her.

"No, Alex. And you damn well know that. Josh would have died by now if it wouldn't have been for this place. I was happy to pay the price for my brother to stay alive." Nova cried.

"I would rather die than have you go through something like this. Shit, Nova." Josh was shocked. His sister had let that perverted motherfucker have his way for her to save him. He never would have wanted her to do something like that. Alex was right, it hadn't been worth it. It would have been harder surviving out there, but they would have managed and if they hadn't, well then his time would have just come.

"Y'all can't tell me that ya didn't know! Beth and I have been here five days and we knew something fucked up was goin' on. But you just closed your eyes, pretended everything was fucking normal, just so you could keep livin' your cushy lives here. Don't tell me y'all never noticed anything. And now you're telling her it was her own damn fault for wanting to protect the two of ya? Y'all don't give a shit about your sister! Didn't even teach her how ta shoot for fuck's sake, but let her go out there every day." Daryl started ranting, only to be told by Josh to stay the fuck out of it.

"I'll say whatever I wanna say ya lil' punk! What's wrong with ya anyway? Why can't ya go out there?"

"I have Meniere's disease." Josh sighed.

"The fuck is that?"

"My ears are fucked up. It causes me to lose my hearing. Periodically so far, but it could get permanent. I get vertigo a lot. That's even worse than not hearing. I just get dizzy, have to throw up from it sometimes. Sometimes it only lasts a couple of minutes, sometimes it lasts over an hour. I get headaches and stuff, can't function right, all I can do is lay down then and wait for it to get better." Josh explained the condition he had been suffering from for years.

"If it happened out there and there would be walkers around, he wouldn't be able to fight, he wouldn't even be able to run or even hear those things coming up,... he needs this place." Nova added.

"We could have found somewhere else! I never asked for you to pimp yourself out to that freak! I wouldn't have wanted you to do it." Josh told his little sister more harshly than he intended to.

"I didn't see any other option. So I did what I had to do. But it doesn't matter anymore. The deal is off now. We'll have to leave anyway."

"No you don't." Danny frowned. "Do you honestly think we would keep him here?"

"Ya can't throw him out. He built this fucking thing. Ya really thing your daddy would just leave it behind? I'm sure he'd rather destroy it than leave it to the bunch of y'all." Daryl said to Danny. Just throwing the guy out wouldn't be an option.

They all fell silent for a while, until Danny spoke up. "I have an idea."

"What?" Paul looked curiously at his younger brother.

"Just let me work it out a bit, I'll tell you guys later. I think we could all use a break right now."

"Yeah, we still have work to do." Alex rubbed his face tiredly. He couldn't wait to get out and thresh some things now.

"We have to put something on those legs of yours." Daryl told Nova quietly and Beth quickly cut in. "I'll help her. Come on, Nova." The girls went to one of the bedrooms and Nova laid on her stomach while Beth tended to her wounds. Those welts looked incredibly painful and both of the girls winced every time Beth touched them to put ointment on them.

"Come with us, Nova. You know you can't stay here now anyway. We'll all take care of each other. We can keep Josh alive."

"I don't know,... I don't know anything anymore." Nova muttered tiredly and the girls fell silent again while Beth finished up.

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Nova had fallen asleep shortly after Beth had left her. When she woke up later and went to go outside Michael was passed out in his chair. Fresh tracks of blood were running out of his nose. Someone must have punched him out again. She wanted to spit on him, but she suppressed the urge and slowly climbed the ladder and looked around for her brothers once she was outside. She spied Alex threshing quinoa and slowly went over to him.

"Hey."

"Hey is for horses." Alex panted and stopped what he was doing.

"Really not in the mood for jokes."

"I know, sorry,... What the fuck are we going to do now, Nova? Why the hell did you do all that?"

"You would have done the same, Alex."

"Probably. Still... you're my little sister. I never wanted any of this for you."

"I know."

"Where do we go from here?"

"I wanna go with them. With Daryl and Beth, I mean. And Carol, I guess."

"You think that's a good idea? The guy's fucking volatile."

"He knows what he's doing out there. They have experience with the walkers."

"Walkers? Taking over their terminology already? Guys got close, huh?" Alex was being sarcastic and it pissed Nova off to no end.

"Why are you getting defensive with me, Alex? We have to weigh our options here!"

"Fuck, just... I don't know. Just give me some time to fucking think alright? This is some overwhelming shit that's happening. I don't know what we should do. Let's ju-"

Alex got cut off by a strange popping noise.

"Was that a gunshot?" Nova's eyes widened and she saw the others running towards the cottage.

"Shit!" Alex cursed and sprinted off. Nova was frozen in place. The noise hadn't been very loud, but it had chilled her to the bones anyway. She slowly followed and when she got down the ladder everybody was gathered in the doorway to the common area and stared in shock. Danny pushed through the little crowd and came up to her. To Nova everything seemed to be in slow motion in that moment. Danny gathered her in his arms and kissed her forehead and whispered: "He will never hurt you again."

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**AN: Thank you for reading! Thank you and hello to the new readers, favorite'ers and followers.**

**Just to be clear, these are just the events that will kick off the real story between Daryl and Nova. We are almost through the "foreplay". Thanks for hanging in there:)**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Well, he didn't murder him, just beat him up badly, but I guess if nobody would have stopped him, he would have gone all the way:)**

** Dean Winchester's Play Thing: Here you go, hope you enjoyed the update:)**

** WayPastMyBedtime: I think Daryl will be way more protective of Nova from here on out:) Hope you enjoyed this installment.**

** xamss: There you go, I think everyone but Paul went in to give him a good beating, but maybe Paul was the one who beat him unconscious a second time, who knows:D **

** mamareadstomuch2: I hope this chapter gave you some answers:) Michael didn't exactly pull a Carol, he's always been an ass and his sadistic streak just grew over the years and he found a good way in making Nova pay for their stay by giving him what he craves. Brrrr, i get negative goosebumps just from writing it. Horrible that men like that are actually out there. Makes me not wanna leave my apartment ever again. xoxo**


	9. Chapter 9

"Well, ding dong, the witch is dead..." Josh muttered and Alex, even though shocked beyond belief, still had the wherewithal to slap his younger brother upside the back of his head for his inappropriate comment.

Nova freed herself from Danny's grasp, she didn't want to be held by him, especially not if he had really done what she assumed he'd done. "What did you do?" Nova whispered as she slowly inched closer to the rest of the group.

"You fucking shot our father... Danny... what the hell..." Paul stared at his younger brother in disbelief.

"Don't look." Daryl held his arm up to keep Nova from approaching any further. The sight was too gruesome. What once had been Michael's face was just a mess of blood and gore now. He didn't want her to have to see it and blame herself for what Danny had done, even though Michael had deserved it.

"I-I... didn't mean to. He kept taunting me. Told me what he would do to her before he'd kick them out..." Danny stuttered when the realization of what he had done slowly sank in. "Shit, man."

"And how exactly would he have done that shit to her while he was chained up, huh? Fuck Danny! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Paul buried his hands in his hair and started pacing.

"I wasn't thinking. I just snapped." Danny explained. "But I don't regret it, man. He had it coming. It's been a long time in the making and you know it. What did you think we were gonna do, Paul? Act like nothing happen? Lock him up in his room for the rest of his life? Chain him to a post by his leg and let him do hard labor? Kick him out? Nothing would have worked. This was the only way."

"It was not the only way, Danny. We just needed some time to think." Paul argued.

"Guys, we gotta get him out of here. Bury him or something." Alex cut in.

"Josh, find a tarp or something, please. And duct tape." Paul instructed the youngest Harris, while Carol went to get a bucket.

"I'll get this cleaned up. Beth, can you help me?" The young woman nodded and went to the storage room to get the cleaning supplies after Carol had told her where to find them.

"C'mon, sure ya can use a smoke." Daryl carefully took hold of Nova's elbow and guided her back to the ladder. She had given him one of her last packs as a goodbye gift. He hadn't opened it yet, but now was as good a time as any. This time he lit a cigarette for her and passed it over before he lit one for himself.

"Your offer still stand?" She asked quietly, halfway through her cigarette. "About me coming with you?"

"Yeah. Sure ya wanna do that? It's safe 'round here for ya now."

"I'm sure. I need to get out of here, even if it's just for a little while. I wanna help you find your people. When we do, I'll probably go come back here. Or not, I don't know yet."

"Wanna come back here alone?" Daryl frowned, not liking the sound of that at all.

"I can try. If I don't make it, well, guess then it was just my time." Nova shrugged casually.

"Don't go suicidal on me, woman."

"I'm not. Really, I'm not, I promise. I just need some space from this place. Damn, that rhymes."

"Damn?" Daryl chuckled.

"Yeah, I don't like it when things rhyme whenever I am trying to make a point. Just makes it sound silly."

Daryl thought about that and had to admit it somehow made sense. "How's your legs?"

"Takes a bit to heal. Usually it's only like three days or so, but this time it's been two days in a row and it's worse than usual, so it might take a week or so."

"Two days in a row? Didn't ya say once a month?"

"Yeah, usually it was once a month,... but with you guys coming in... he wanted Beth. There was no way I would have ever let that happen. So I offered to pay for her and he accepted. Please don't tell her." Nova told him with a hushed voice.

"Thank you." Daryl had the utmost respect for Nova and since Beth would never know and would never be able to thank her for saving her from that creep, Daryl expressed his heartfelt gratitude.

"You would have done the same." Nova shrugged it off, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Yeah, but I don't know a whole lot of other people who would have done that. Ya barely know the girl."

"She's suffered enough."

"So have you." Daryl countered.

"When are you guys leaving? Tomorrow?" Nova once again changed the topic.

"Yeah, wanted to leave when you went for your sweep."

"Can we leave at first light? I don't want anyone to know I'm leaving. I'm just telling Alex."

"Fine with me and I'm sure with the others as well."

"Okay. Thanks Daryl. I'm gonna go talk to Alex once he's done." Nova briefly put her hand on Daryl's arm and gave him the tiniest of smiles before she went back inside to start gathering her things. Daryl didn't want to admit it, but he was glad that she was coming with them.

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"Alex? C'mon, I wanna talk to you about something." Nova grabbed her brother by the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him away from the others. "Let's take a little walk."

They went outside and walked towards the gate. Nova looked straight ahead, but she felt Alex' gaze burn holes into her. "You're leaving with them, aren't you?"

Nova looked at him, her eyes wide in surprise. "How the hell do you know that? Did you hear me talking to Daryl?"

"No. I know, because I know you, little sis. I figured you wanted to get out of here. And I know you well enough to know, that nothing I will say will convince you to stay. So my only question is: You coming back?"

"I want to. I'll try. Please don't tell anybody, okay? We'll slip out at first light. Need you to let us out of the gate. Don't look at me like that. You know how Josh and Danny would react. I have to go. They'll get over it." Nova begged and looked at him imploringly. Alex sighed deeply, knowing the two boys would go apeshit.

"Fine. Guess it's the least I can do after everything you went through for us. But you be careful out there, alright? Maybe once you find some of their people you can all come back here. It's safe here. At least until they figured out where else to go. You know the door is always open, especially now with the general gone."

"I know. Thanks Alex." She leaned up and kissed his cheek, while he enveloped her in a bear hug.

"I love you, Novi."

"I love you, too." She hugged him back hard, knowing it would be the last time for a long time. If not forever.

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Thank god the guys had been out cold from the day they've had. Daryl and Beth had generously offered up the rooms they had occupied to Danny, Paul and Josh. This way they had enough time to pack their things and pack some more supplies without anyone but Alex knowing. Carol had let them know that she would go back with Nova, if they found someone from the prison group and they didn't want her to stay. Nova hadn't been thrilled, but she guessed it was still better than being completely alone on her way back to their safe fortress.

The next morning Daryl woke everybody up and they quickly got ready. A quick and quiet breakfast later they went up to the gate. Nova was pretty much holding her breath the entire time. She was scared that one of the other guys would wake up and find out what they were doing. She didn't hug Alex again when he opened the gate for them, they just looked at each other and gave each other a nod. There wasn't much time for goodbyes anyway, as some walkers were around and came closer when the noise of the gate alerted them to food being present. Daryl quickly took two out, while Beth swung her new machete at another and Nova embedded her axe into the skull of the fourth. When they were dealt with she took one last glance at Alex who was already shutting the gate again, then she turned around and they jogged out into the open field and with every step Nova breathed easier. After ten minutes she sighed a deep breath of relief. She had gotten out and she knew she was doing the right thing, even if she got killed out here, right now it felt better than being stuck in that tomb back there.

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"You doin' okay?" Daryl asked Nova after about an hour of walking towards the train tracks. So far they had been in luck and no walkers had come their way.

"Better than okay. Glad to be out of there."

"Guess, ya made the right call then. By coming with us, I mean." Daryl hung back with her a little, letting Carol and Beth walk in front of them.

"Yeah, I think I did, even though it might be kinda crazy to give up that food and safety." She laughed a little.

"Could be considered crazy, yeah. But I guess it fits ya." Daryl chuckled.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean? You think I'm crazy?" Her eyebrows were raised when she looked at him, but she was smiling.

"A little. Went out here every day without knowing shit about shooting. Risk dying from a heatstroke by wearing a fucking leather jacket in this heat,... Got that huge ass tattoo,... Must'a hurt like a bitch getting that." Daryl smirked. He hoped she would some day let him get a better look at it. He had been too focused on her wounds to really notice what she had tattooed on the right side of her back. He just remembered that it was something like a black tribal with red flowers and had reached from the top of her right shoulder all the way down to her panty line, taking up the whole side of her back to the right of her spine and curving around her hip towards her front. Okay, maybe he had paid better attention to it than he had initially thought, he had to admit to himself. Still, he wanted to see it again, take in all the details and trace every line with his eyes.

"Yeah, hurt like hell, but it was worth it." Nova's deep, raspy voice tore him out of his thoughts and made him focus on their conversation again. "You got more than those little ones on your hand and wrist? Oh and that devil up there?"

"Yeah, got something on ma back, too."

"Really? Cool. Can I see sometime?" She smiled enthusiastically.

"Maybe." Daryl's mood grew somber. Showing her his tat meant showing her his ugliest scars. It wasn't that he was overly self-conscious about them, he just hated the looks people gave him and the questions they asked when they saw them. Nova sensed that she had touched on something, even though she had no idea what, but she decided not to press the issue.

"What do you have? Like a tribal? Or a portrait of somebody or what?" She asked instead. If he'd never show her, at least she knew what it was and could try to imagine it.

"Two demons... right shoulder. Aren't very good. Friend of mine who was learnin' did 'em."

"And let me guess, you were drunk and didn't care how they turned out?"

"Yeah, kinda." Daryl laughed quietly. "Coulda been worse though. 'Nother friend of mine got the word 'wiener' tattooed on his arm, but the guy spelled it wrong and now it says 'weiner"."

"Oh Jesus, that's bad. But why would anyone get that word tattooed anyway? In Germany that words means Viennese."

"Viennese?"

"Yeah, like someone who's from Vienna?"

"I know what Viennese means, just wondering why you know what it's called in German."

"Well, I am German, so I should know the language." Nova laughed.

"What? Shut the fuck up, you're not German." Daryl scoffed and in the moment Carol turned around and backed Nova up.

"She is."

"Yeah, why don't you know that?" Beth laughed, when Daryl looked at them in disbelief.

"'Cause she didn't answer my fucking questions." Daryl thought grumpily.

"I was born in Germany, parents died, no other family, ended up in an orphanage, got adopted at age 8 and came to the States. You said it yourself, my accent's a little weird sometimes."

"Yeah, but not German-weird. Just kinda,... don't know,... different." He squinted at her, unhappy that she seemed to have shared with everybody else but him before today.

"Well, now you know." She smiled, kinda liking when he got a little grumpy.

"Yeah,... NOW I know." And pretty much just by accident, he thought, still pissed. He hated that it irked him so much that she hadn't shared anything with him, but obviously with the others. And it pissed him off, that it only made her more interesting to him. He didn't want to be interested. Things were already complicated enough these days.

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They had been walking for what must have been close to three hours, when they heard something out of the ordinary. Daryl was in the lead and held up his hand, signaling for everybody to stop and be quiet.

"Hey!" They heard someone yell in the distance. It was still far away and pretty muffled, but still audible. They turned around and saw a figure approaching some distance away. Nova lifted her binoculars up to her face to see if she would be able to recognize something.

"Holy shit, you gotta be fucking kidding me." She muttered, absolutely not liking what she was seeing.

"What?" Daryl asked her, while he tore the binoculars out of her hands, lifting them to his own eyes, even though the binoculars were attached to a chord that hung around Nova's neck, making her bump into him a little. "Fuck."

"What? Trouble?" Carol asked, her hand going to the handle of her knife.

"Maybe. It's Danny." Daryl muttered and looked at Nova hard when he handed her the binoculars back.

"What? Think I invited him? I don't like this either." She muttered darkly. They waited and a couple of minutes later an out of breath Danny approached, finally slowing down to a walk. He must have ran the whole way to have been able to catch up with them.

"What the hell, Nova? You just leave? Couldn't be bothered to say goodbye?" Danny panted.

"I knew you wouldn't want me to go and try to stop me. Didn't feel like going through all that drama."

"Damn right I would have stopped you. You're crazy, girl."

"Go back, Danny. There's no need for you to be out here. I'll be back."

"You know, the last time you told me you'd be back, you didn't come back for five fucking years. And you only came back because your old man put a bullet in his brain."

"Danny, go back. Seriously." Nova hated when he talked about her father like that. Her adoptive father's suicide had left a bitter taste in all of the Harris' kids mouths.

"No, strength in numbers, right? Plus, I can carry a ton of supplies. I can shoot, I can fight,... If you go with them to find their group, so will I. Someone's gotta keep an eye on you."

That statement didn't sit right with Daryl at all. He didn't care that Danny was like two heads taller than him, he still took a step towards him threateningly. "We had it covered, man. Got a ton more experience at this than you."

"Never too late to learn. I'm not going back. Deal with it!"

Daryl looked back and forth between Nova and Danny and finally threw his arm in the air in exasperation. The old angry Daryl, that Beth and Carol remembered so well, making an appearance. "Fine! Get yourself killed. See if I care. Let's go."

He couldn't help himself, Danny hadn't been his favorite person even before he'd shot his own father. He couldn't explain why. Something about Danny just unnerved him and pissed him off. Having him with them, might give them some more protection, but it didn't do anything positive for Daryl's mood.

'Sure,' Daryl thought grumpily while he stomped through the field, 'just when things finally get better again, Sasquatch comes along and …' Daryl stopped short. What exactly did Danny do? Ruin everything? That was what he had been thinking in the back of his mind. But what was he ruining? Daryl was confused by his own thoughts and for that he blamed Danny and in his book that gave Daryl every right to be pissed at the younger man. And Daryl being Daryl he would let the guy know how much he pissed him off.

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**AN: Thank you for reading! Hi and thanks to all new readers, followers and favorite-ers. Thank you for your time.**

**So, they are off and finally out of the bunker. Now we will get more Nova/Daryl.**

** mamareadstomuch2: Oh i LOVE that ship name! Noryl it is. You gave me some great input. I hadn't intended for Danny to go with them at first, but you brought up some interesting points, that might play out well. It is so much more interesting to have both, Danny AND Carol along for the ride. We'll get to see what they will have to say about their love interests getting closer. Yes, my little one is very well and cool as a cucumber again. Maybe it was just another growth spurt or new teeth coming in that made him so fussy, who knows? I hope your boys are well and happy as well. Much love to you xoxo**

** DarylDixon'sLover: I guess we haven't seen the last of Danny. He will probably not like Nova and Daryl getting closer.**

** xamss: Yes, Danny sure will freak out. It might make for some interesting moments in the future when things get serious between Daryl and Nova. And you are right, her brothers must have felt something, but denial is such a nice and more comfortable thing than facing the truth. I don't think they meant their sister harm, but they probably didnt expect that something like that was going on. **

** Nemu-Chan: Oh thank you so much for your kind words. That is really nice of you to say. I agree, people just go nuts in times like that and I thought it was pretty realistic of Michael to be opportunistic and make her pay in some form. Hope you liked the update.**

** Sachi1988: You read them in TWO DAYS? Wow! You are one dedicated reader. Thank you so much! Four brothers? You gotta be a warrior princess or something. Thank you so much for your comment. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.**


	10. Chapter 10

They kept walking, but the mood between the members of this newly formed group was different. Danny's arrival had put a major damper on Daryl and especially Nova's mood. She wanted to slap Danny. The whole purpose of her going with Daryl and the others had been to get away from her family and the Wolff brothers, but once again Danny just didn't get it. Get HER. One more reason why they had never happened as a couple. Now she found herself rather walking next to Carol, than next to him, while Daryl was a couple of steps ahead of them and Danny and Beth walked behind her and Carol.

"Why are you so mad? It's sweet that he cares enough to risk his life." Carol looks over at Nova, not understanding the woman's anger. Nova and Danny had seemed like good friends in the almost three weeks she had seen them together.

"Trust me, Carol, that's not what this is. He means well, thinks that this way he shows me that he cares about me, but actually he is only doing this for himself and disregarding my reaction to this. Ignoring the decision I made,... that's not caring, that's being selfish." Nova muttered bitterly.

"Don't you think that your decision to come with us and leave them behind to deal with everything all by themselves was selfish, too?" Carol glanced at Nova with a speculative look in her eyes.

"Yeah, it was selfish. And I would never claim that it wasn't. That's the difference between me and Danny. I KNOW I am being selfish here, whereas he tells himself that he is doing this all for me, when in reality it is all about himself. I think I have earned the right to be selfish and do this for myself. Keep my fucking sanity, but no... Danny 'saves' the day and tries to take that opportunity away from me. Yeah, Carol, real sweet of him."

"I think you're being unreasonable. He is a nice, sweet guy an-" Carol tried to convince Nova that in her eyes, this was a really good thing, but Nova didn't want to hear any of it and cut her off.

"Spare me, Carol." Nova bit out tensely, holding her hand up in Carol's face and picking up speed to catch up to Daryl. "Seriously, I've known the guy for 20 years, but after three weeks she thinks she's got him figured out?"

"Even in the fucking apocalypse everybody's got an opinion." Daryl shrugged disinterested. He was used to Carol sticking her nose in other people's business. It seemed to be a way of life for her. It had gotten a little better in the past year, but he wouldn't tell Nova that. He didn't want her to feel like he was picking sides, especially he didn't want her to think that he was picking Carol's side, because he really wasn't.

"He ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, hm?" Daryl asked her after another mile had been walked in silence.

Nova looked at him questioningly. "Who?"

"Bigfoot back there." Daryl motioned behind them with his head. When Nova continued to give him a confused look, he elaborated. "His bro and your bro said nothin' ever happened between the two of ya. Said nothin' ever would..."

"That's right. He is like my third brother. Always has been. He is firmly planted in the family zone."

"Looks like he didn't get the memo. Following you around like a lovesick puppy dog. Still thinks he's got a shot." Daryl had absolutely no explanation why he felt the urge to talk to her about that. He was just so damn curious if Danny was really fooling himself, like Paul and Alex had said or if Nova was thinking differently about the whole thing.

"He doesn't have a shot. Believe you in me, he SO does not have a shot. It's like you said, it's puppy dog love. Probably not even that, with all those years that it's been going on for, it's probably just wanting what you can't have, you know? I am sure, that if I would go up to him tomorrow and tell him that I loved him and kissed him, he would lose interest so fast it would make all of our heads spin."

"Why? I think the guy would piss himself like a happy dog if you'd do that." Daryl continued with the dog metaphor.

"No, maybe for a little moment and then he'd be like 'Wait, THAT's it?'. He just has this fantasy in his head of the two of us together and it just built up more and more over the years. His expectations, by now, have to be so freaking big, that real life will never be able to live up to it, you know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, like he expects the whole fairy tale, romance novel, firework shit, but what he'll get is feeling like he's frenchin' his fucking sister." Daryl thought out loud.

"Exactly! You just summed that up perfectly." Nova smiled at him, happy that he got what she was trying to explain.

"So why not just do it? Kiss him? Put the guy out of his misery. Also gotta be good for you to get him off your back." Daryl suggested, but frowned at himself when the image of Danny and Nova kissing popped up in his head and he felt like punching the living shit out of the guy when he imagined those gigantic hands covering almost her entire back. Nope, having Danny touch Nova was not something he wanted to see.

"Because it could be dangerous in a couple of ways. Maybe I'm wrong and he'd just get more obsessed because I gave him a taste of what he can't have. And also I might just have to throw up, because I would seriously feel like I'm slipping the tongue to Josh or Alex. Brrrr." Nova actually had to shake herself when that thought made goosebumps break out on her skin from being so grossed out. Daryl gave a little grunt to acknowledge her answer, but otherwise kept his mouth shut. He didn't know what the fuck was happening to him. Well, that was a lie, he knew what was happening to him, but he didn't want it to happen. He also had no idea how it had happened and how the hell it had happened within just a week, but Nova had seriously gotten under his skin. Somehow she had snuck her way into his mind without him even noticing, making him wonder about her, making him curious about her, making him care about her. He felt clumsy and awkward around her, like he had to watch his feet the whole time so he wouldn't make himself stumble, because he kept thinking about her. He seriously didn't want to have to deal with this shit. He knew he would end up getting hurt, because she obviously wasn't interested at all or why else would she share information about herself with everyone but him? Looked like she didn't even like him very much. Just like Danny, he had no shot, but he was Daryl fucking Dixon, he'd shoot himself before he'd follow her around like Danny did. He had to freeze her out. He had to make himself not care.

Just when he thought that, Nova tripped over a branch and stumbled a bit, before she regained her footing. Daryl's hand had shot out and grabbed her upper arm to steady her. "You okay?" he asked, looking down to see if she was limping from twisting her ankle or something.

"No, I'm fine." she laughed and casually shrugged out of his grasp and kept walking. "Just being a stumbling mess here, nothing new."

Daryl checked her walk once more until he was satisfied that she was indeed fine and then scoffed at himself. So much for making himself not care.

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After their first day of walking they had to set up camp by the side of the road for the night. They were still quite far away from the prison. Daryl and Beth had seriously run like mad men to get away from there and from the herd that had blocked them from the train tracks. Daryl was a little ashamed that he had lost his sense of direction so much after that. He blamed exhaustion and dehydration. Thankfully they hadn't encountered the herd yet. Just small herds of walkers they were able to take care off easily. Danny was quite good with them, he had to admit. Nova still worried him. She got really nervous when the walkers approached and he was still able to see her shake during and after the little fights. He knew it would take a while for her to get used to them, he just hoped she'd be able to keep her cool and fight until she got to that point.

The second day of walking once again didn't help Daryl much in trying to freeze Nova out and flush her out of his system. He found himself gravitating towards her unconsciously, especially when Danny was walking next to her, but Nova seemed grateful when Daryl 'rescued' her from having too many one-on-one conversations with Daryl. A fact that deeply satisfied a purely male instinct inside of him. Often Nova would include Beth in the conversations and then she and Daryl would pick up some speed and end up walking ahead together again.

And she was finally opening up a little. Around noon on the second day he finally knew that she was 31 years old, that she liked old school punk music, had done ballet as a kid, but had quit when she had found out that it would seriously fuck up her feet, that she'd once had a boyfriend in the army who'd carried her around the way she had carried Beth back to camp and that's why she knew how to do it and that she had done a lot of sports with Alex to power themselves out and get out their frustration with their new situation after their dad had killed himself.

"Ya do any of those martial arts stuff or boxing or somethin'? Daryl asked her when she had told him about the sports thing.

"No, not at all. We played badminton, volleyball, did spinning, stuff like that. Why did you think boxing and martial arts?"

"Cause you once said you had skills,..." Daryl referred to the time he had tried to ask her questions and she had just answered with yes and no. "Figured you meant something like that."

"Oh, no. When I said I had skills I meant something like making chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Well not actual cookies, I ended up eating the dough before I got to putting them in the oven, but I never once got sick or had to throw up. That takes skill. And there's like maybe one or two songs I can sing kind of okay when it's karaoke night at the bar. Things like that. Nothing that would help me survive in this world." She laughed.

"What are the songs?"

"Huh?"

"The songs you can sing okay."

"Oh right, 'I've Been Working On The Railroad' I guess. Although the line 'Dina blow your horn' always makes me chuckle. Yeah, sorry, I'm silly like that. And then I guess 'Paint it black' by the Rolling Stones? 'Cause all you gotta do is hum your way through that one."

Daryl shook his head and looked at the ground, trying to hide his amused smirk before he looked back up at her through his long bangs that kept falling into his eyes. She might think of herself as silly, but he thought her skill set was fucking cute. He couldn't help it. She might look tough as nails, but he was finally getting some more glimpses behind that facade and he liked what he saw. She obviously didn't just look that tough, she WAS tough, but there was also something sweet, honest and carefree in there that kept drawing him in, because he wanted to see more of it.

Late afternoon during day number three they arrived in a little town that Daryl knew well. It was close to the prison and he'd done many runs around that area. They were close to their starting point and close to hopefully finding some members of the scattered prison group. They wanted to try their luck to get to the tracks the next morning. It would get dark in about an hour and they needed to find some shelter for the night. Daryl led them to a neighborhood with lots of abandoned houses. They just needed shelter for one night, so they just needed to pick a street without too many walkers around and clear one of those houses.

There weren't too many walkers around actually, a lot seemed to have joined that humongous herd Daryl, Michonne, Bob and Tyreese had encountered a little while ago. They killed about ten walkers in that street until Daryl found a house with a fenced in backyard. That would do for the night.

"Come on, Novi. Take my hand, I'll help you." Danny held his hand out to her and Nova had the urge to bite it. The past couple of days he had just kept touching her on her arm, her hands, her back, pulling a little bug from her hair. Yes he meant well, but it still pissed her off.

"I can do it by myself, but thanks." She politely declined and threw her pack over the fence before she climbed over herself, joining Daryl on the other side. Together they helped Beth and Carol over, too, before Danny climbed over himself. They carefully checked the backyard for walkers and breathed a sigh of relief when it was deemed to be clear.

"Wanna check the house?" Nova asked Daryl while she held her hand up to shield her eyes from the glaring sun.

"Windows are boarded up. Might have a couple walkers inside." Daryl murmured while he looked over the backside of the house.

"There are windows at the side that aren't boarded up." Carol pointed to the side of the house.

"Oh, she's right and no blinds. Might be able to see what's inside." Nova said while she stepped closer.

"Too high up, though. Even I am not tall enough." Danny said, while Daryl and Nova kept walking closer to the window.

"There's a little ledge I can step one. Just need a little push and I can pull myself up by my hands on that windowsill for a couple seconds. Long enough to look what's inside." Nova said while she eyed the outside of the house.

"I'll give ya a lift." Daryl nodded while he shrugged off his backpack and crossbow.

"Don't bother, I'll do it, I can lift her higher." Danny walked over, already shrugging his pack off, too and that's when Nova just had enough.

"Daryl's got it!"

"But..." Danny wanted to argue, but Nova cut him off.

"No! No but. Just stop, Danny, I've had it up to here. Come take my hand, come lean on me, come put your head in my lap, come here I'll warm you up... NO! No, no, no, Danny. Just get it in that thick head of yours. I don't want to, alright? And it drives me up the wall that you just don't get it. You are suffocating me, you are overbearing and you glom on to me and just push yourself on me over and over and I can't take it anymore. I left because I wanted some fucking distance, if I had wanted any of you to come, I would have asked, but no, you decided to ignore what I want and came anyway. You wanna stay? Fine, but stay the fuck out of my way!" Nova just exploded on him in aggressive whispers. She was angry, but there was no need to attract walkers. Danny stood there dumbfounded while Beth looked awkwardly at the ground, Carol looked disapprovingly at Nova and Daryl just watched with his face seemingly expressionless. On the inside he was gloating, though.

"I don't deserve you treating me like that. I've always been good to you. I just mean well. I care-"

"Don't you fucking tell me you care about me, Danny. If you did, you would have stayed put. Now get out of my personal space and stand over there with the others or I am seriously gonna lose it!" She stared up at him hard and finally Danny relented.

"I don't deserve this." He told her once more before he turned around and walked back to Carol and Beth who were standing a few feet away. Carol gently rubbed Danny's arm to comfort him, showing her support for the young man.

Nova took three deep breaths, before she turned to Daryl. "Sorry, where were we?"

"I'll give ya a lift." Daryl stepped behind her, when she stood close to the wall and grasped her hips firmly with his hands. In the back of his mind he noticed that it was a perfect fit. "Ready? Alright, on three. One, two, three..." he focused back on the task at hand and gave her a good lift so she could reach the ledge with her feet and was able to hold onto the windowsill. She did a pull up and quickly scanned the interior through the dirty, dusty window.

"I see four bodies, but I can't tell if it's actual dead or walkers. Want me to scream and see if that wakes 'em up?"

"Nah, we'll pitch a tent here in the backyard. The fences are intact and we'll keep watch. Let's not risk it for just one night." Daryl said.

"Fine." Nova lowered herself again until her feet touched the ledge again. She turned to the side to jump down, just keeping one foot on the ledge, but just then the old creaky wood underneath her left foot gave way and she yelped in shock when she found herself falling. Her left arm scraping against the side of the house.

"Shit!" Daryl cursed, but reacted quickly. Nova found her fall being broken by two strong arms that had wrapped around her waist and she felt herself being pulled hard against a firm chest. She put her hands on Daryl's broad shoulders and looked down at him where his face was level with her chest. For the first time since she'd known him, she saw his true face. The shock made him let his usually guarded expression be more open, his usually squinting eyes were more open as well and slightly widened. She locked eyes with him and found that she couldn't look away in that moment. They continued to stare at each other while he slowly lowered her, letting her body slide down the length of his until she was on her own two feet again. Still he kept his arms around her for a moment, while those piercing blue eyes of his made her feel very weird things.

"You okay?" Daryl asked unusually quiet.

"Yeah. Peachy." Nova gasped out. She was breathing hard. From the surprise of the fall or the surprise of what his eyes were doing to her, she didn't know. She carefully disentangled herself from his arms and quickly turned around and walked past Danny, Carol and Beth, who had all been startled into action, when Nova had fallen, but now only stood there watching her walk away with a confused expression on her face, after witnessing that little thing between Daryl and Nova with interest and in the cases of Danny and Carol, with apprehension.

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**AN: Thank you for reading, following and favoriting. I know this is time you'll never get back so I appreciate it you spending it reading my little story.**

**Uuhh they had their first "moment". It was fun writing that, finally getting to the good stuff.**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Can't make promises on that... yet;-) xoxo**

** mamareadstomuch2: That line made me laugh out loud. Didn't know that denial thing. But yes, he was on a trip down that river, but I guess he finally learned that it was time to get out of that river and face the truth after a couple of days. We'll see how that goes, lol. I spoke too soon, had a horrible, just horrible day yesterday with the little one. I think one of those big teeth in the back is coming out, I think I saw a white pointy thing, but he just won't let me look. Poor guy. Teething is horrible, I don't even want to think about the fact that we still have 12 teeth to go until it's done. xoxo**

** xamss: I am horrible, still haven't answered your PM, but I promise I will get to it later tonight. Had a seriously bad day yesterday and a bad night before that and I wanted to give you guys this chapter first, before I lost my mind. haha. Yes, Danny going with them will just make for much more interesting situations;-) I don't think Daryl will pull back, I think he'll go territorial instead.**

** Bella87: Danke, das ist lieb. Wow, du hast alle gelesen? Ein treuer Fan, danke für die Zeit die du dafür investiert hast. Hope you liked this chapter:) Much love to you.**


	11. Chapter 11

Nova quickly tried to distract herself from that unexpected moment she had just shared with Daryl, by setting up her tent. When she was finished she went inside and zipped the opening shut. She needed to hide for a little while, get her head sorted out and also tend to the bloody scrapes on the inside of her left arm. She cursed herself for taking off her protective leather jacket when it had ultimately gotten too hot to bear the other day and she figured a heatstroke wouldn't make her be more safe at all and it would have put the whole group at risk.

While she cleaned the scrapes on her skin she slowly felt the shock from the fall ebb off. She was slowly regaining her ability to focus and tried to analyze what had happened. The fact was, Daryl wasn't even remotely her type. Nova was sort of embarrassed to admit, that she had a type. She couldn't help it, but she had always felt attracted to tall guys with a full head of shiny dark hair, bonus attraction if it was naturally wavy. And she loved big dark eyes. Also, she seemed to have a thing for assholes, because all the guys she had been with, had at one point or another turned out to be major jerks. She didn't think of herself as superficial, she didn't necessarily look for the male model type, she was just a sucker for dark hair and dark eyes and a killer smile and looks are just the first thing you notice when you meet somebody new. So Daryl just did not fit her type at all, except for the dark hair. His eyes were blue and most of the time you barely even saw them because he kept narrowing them to tiny slits. He pretty much never smiled. He had a nice built, but wasn't overly tall and she could sense that he was a good guy and not an asshole. So the only way to explain why her stomach had suddenly clenched hard and then fluttered excitedly when they had stared at each other, was that it must have been the adrenalin from the fall and the argument with Danny.

'Yeah, that's all it was. No biggie. Everything's back to normal now.' she told herself inside her head while she put away her first aid kit. Then she unzipped the flap of her tent and joined the others outside. They had made a little fire to heat up some tomato soup and to get some warmth, as it got pretty cold at night. Nova didn't give much more thought to Danny or Daryl, but still she sat across from them on the other side of the fire next to Beth while they ate and talked quietly.

"What do you miss most Nova?" Beth asked her later, playing a little game she used to play with Maggie back at the prison. Wasn't really a game, more like reminiscing about the things they had loved and lost.

"Devil's Food Cake,... New music,... watching sitcoms in bed in my favorite pajamas." Nova thought back to her old home she had shared with her brothers and how they would all get comfy at night, laughing their asses off while watching The Big Bang Theory.

"She had the ugliest pajamas in the whole world." Danny chuckled quietly from across the fire. "She had these white ones, the pants had ice cream cones in pink, green and yellow on them. And the top had this huge ice cream cone in all three colors printed right in the middle."

Nova was still mad at Danny, but the memory of her pajamas made her smile nonetheless. "I loved those. They were so comfy. If the world ever gets back to normal again, I'll buy twenty of those and won't wear anything else for a whole year."

"Guess you won't get laid for a whole year then." Danny smirked, making Nova roll her eyes at him this time.

"I've gone much longer than that without sex and survived. And if a guy I like doesn't want to have sex with me because I'm wearing clothes he doesn't like, then he can just go and suck himself off." Nova muttered annoyed. Obviously Danny had already gotten over their argument and was already back to his old self. She would be lying if she said it didn't bother her, that he was ignoring what she had told him, but she was too tired for another fight. She didn't even realize how tired she really was while she stared at the flames. She didn't notice Daryl's eyes watching her from across the fire, she didn't notice Carol shooting slightly worried glances back and forth between Nova and Daryl and she didn't notice slumping against Beth and falling asleep.

After a couple of minutes Danny got up from his place next to Daryl and walked over to Nova and Beth. He sat down next to Nova, so close, that their legs were touching and gently pulled her into his arms, away from Beth. When she was securely nestled into his side, he gently pushed a strand of hair that had fallen into her face, back behind her ear. The sight made Daryl want to gag. He had wanted to keep his mouth shut, but he just couldn't. He knew Nova would be pissed, if she would be awake right now.

"Ya losin' ya hearin', too? She told ya that she don't want ya touchin' her all of the fucking time." Daryl spat in Danny's direction.

"I know her better than you do, dude. It's fine. Nova's just got a temper sometimes. She likes her freedom, gets antsy when she feels like someone is stepping on her toes. That's all that was back there. We're good, trust me." Danny smiled confidently at Daryl, making the older man shoot him right between the eyes. He wished Nova would wake up right that second and tell Danny off again and wipe that stupid smile of the giant's face.

"Only thing you're doin' is making her even more angry." Daryl scoffed with a shake of his head.

"Is that right? I guess just because you stared longingly into her eyes after catching her, you know all about her, don't you?" Danny looked Daryl straight in the eyes, seeing anger flash through them at his statement. He liked getting a rise out of the redneck hunter. "Yeah, we all saw that, but don't get your hopes up, you're not her type."

"Don't know what you think ya saw back there, Sasquatch. Was nothin' there. But ya might wanna take your own advice. It's been what? Over fifteen years and she still hasn't given ya the time of day? Wake up, man. That woman ain't ever gonna want to climb your fucking tree."

"You don't know her... You have no right to say anything about us." Danny bit out. He wanted to throw himself at Daryl, tackle him to the ground and punch him until his face looked like bloody hamburger meat.

"Seems like you don't know he-"

"Enough. Daryl let him be. He does know Nova better than any of us. If he says its fine, it's fine. We have a long trip ahead of us and arguing won't make it any more pleasant. So leave it be." Carol cut in, scolding both of them. "Why don't you take Nova to her tent and let her sleep Danny. Before she wakes up." Carol knew if Nova woke up there would be even more fighting and who knew to what level it would escalate from there on out. Of course she had noticed the way Daryl had looked at Nova and she didn't like it one bit. Especially not since Daryl had kept it up the whole time they had been gathered around the fire. The only solace was, that Nova, so far hadn't looked at Daryl like that, from what Carol could tell. Still she would try her best to keep those two apart whenever she could. She ignored the dark glare Daryl sent her while Danny took Nova to her tent, she was glad the younger woman was no longer present and Daryl would focus on something else for now.

Little did she know that her actions achieved the exact opposite. He couldn't stop thinking about her now. She would flip her shit if he told her what Danny did just now and tell her he would. The little shit had provoked him, smugly telling him that he had noticed the little thing that had happened earlier, but that it had meant nothing. To Daryl, it had meant anything but. He might not be the most experience where those things were concerned, but even he knew that there had been a serious spark between them earlier. But unfortunately she had seemed to be pretty shocked by it, whereas he had been very welcoming toward it. But her being shocked only reassured him even more, that something had happened between them and not even Danny was able to explain it away, that's why he had dealt that low blow to begin with. Danny felt threatened and that, in turn, made Daryl feel very satisfied.

##### ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ######

Daryl didn't get the chance to tell Nova about the previous night himself. While they were still packing up and Danny was taking a piss on the side of the house, out of sight, Beth approached Nova.

"Hey, I just wanted you to know something. You were wondering how you got in your tent, right? Well you fell asleep by the fire. You were slumped against my shoulder, actually. Danny came over and pulled you into his arms and held you for a while before Carol told him to get you in your tent... just thought you should know." the young woman knew that Daryl had been right, Nova had clearly stated that she didn't want to be held by Danny and she should know that he had still done so without her consent. Nova's expression turned hard and she looked over to the side of the house Danny had vanished behind.

"Thank you, Beth. Nice to know you have my back. Don't tell him you told me, okay? I'll deal with it." She gave Beth a warm smile and squeezed her arm gently for a second before she went back to storing away her tent. She appeared completely calm on the outside, but on the inside she was furious. Who the fuck did he think he was. He really thought he was allowed to do whatever he wanted. That their two decade-long friendship would give him a free pass, but that couldn't be further from the truth. She had to take a moment to take some deep and calming breaths. Her hands were shaking, she was so mad. Today she almost hoped they would come across some walkers so she could blow off some steam.

"Alright, ready to go?" She heard Daryl's voice a few feet behind her, addressing the whole group and a minute later they were climbing the fence again and were off to the train station to get on the tracks.

###### ##### ###### ####### ###### #######

"You take care of your arm?" Daryl asked when they were once more taking the lead.

"Oh yeah, after I set up my tent. Just a couple of scrapes, nothing to write home about." Nova told him with a smile, before she quickly looked down again. She found that she wasn't able to look him in the eyes anymore. Not without that clenching and fluttering happening again. And he suddenly made her feel nervous and awkward. The whole thing really made her sweat. The adrenalin had long been out of her system now and he was still doing things to her. That was just not good. There was nothing left to explain this away. She was not developing a crush on Daryl. That just wasn't happening. She told herself that over and over.

"How are your legs? Doing better?" Daryl wasn't able to get the image of those nasty bruises out of his head and he was worried that they were still hurting her.

"Yeah, much better. Thanks." His concern made her stomach clench again and she cursed inwardly. 'How the fuck did this happen?'

"What?" Daryl looked at her questioningly.

"What?" Nova was confused.

"You just asked how the fuck this happened. What ya mean?" Daryl asked her and Nova's eyes widened. She hadn't realized that she had actually said it out loud.

"Oh, uhm... " she was scrambling for an answer, now confusing Daryl. "All of this... I guess... The world turning into this hell hole."

"Who knows." Daryl just shrugged. He knew instinctively that that was not what she had meant or she wouldn't have hesitated, obviously trying to think of an answer. That girl was a mystery to him. "Hey... gotta tell ya something. 'Bout last night."

Nova looked behind them to see if Danny was out of earshot before she turned back to Daryl. "Yeah, I heard. Beth told me what Danny did."

"Gonna do somethin' 'bout it?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what yet."

"Tried to keep him from doing it, but he got defensive. Said he knew you and that it would be fine."

"Pfff, right. He's delusional. Doesn't know me at all. He say anything else?" Nova looked at him like she knew there was something else.

"Just gave me some shit." Daryl shrugged again while he peeked at her through his bangs, his eyes full of uncertainty.

"About what?" She asked and swore that she saw Daryl start to fidget. His hands constantly readjusting the strap of his crossbow that was slung across his torso.

Daryl didn't know if he should bring up the moment they had shared. At the last minute he decided against it. He didn't want to risk being wrong about it and having her explain it away.

"Just some of the usual bullshit. Marking his territory and shit." Daryl at least didn't lie, but didn't go into much more detail either. This would have to suffice.

"Marking his territory. There is no territory for him to mark. I don't know how often I will have to tell him that until he finally gets it. I hate this. The trip back is gonna be so much fun, especially when Carol stays and it will be just him and me. I might actually kill him if he keeps up being so touchy." Nova muttered, unknowingly delivering a little shock to Daryl's system.

"Ya still set on going back there?" he asked her, trying to keep the surprise and disappointment out of his voice. He had forgotten about her wanting to go back. Somehow he had assumed she would stay with them.

"They are my family. Alex said maybe we all will go back there. It's a safe place for you and your group to decide what to do next."

"Maybe,... gonna have to see what the others have to say about it when we find 'em."

They fell silent again after that, mostly because walkers were coming up ahead and they had to take care of them. Daryl was amazed how much better Nova was doing with them today, but judging from the force she used, it looked like she was taking out some major frustrations on the undead creatures. Now he knew that he would have to get her mad, if she ever wanted to give up and quit fighting. Getting people mad was his specialty, there would be no problem in getting her to keep going.

##### ###### ##### ###### ###### ####### ######

Nova stuck to Daryl all day, successfully freezing Danny out. Whenever he tried to talk to her she just ignored him. Wasn't much of a plan or punishment, but she had yet to come up with a better one. For now this would be good enough.

At night they set up camp at the edge of the woods close to the tracks. Nova tried to sleep in her tent, but she just kept tossing and turning. The situation with Danny just wouldn't let her mind settle down. After what felt like an eternity of trying to fall asleep she gave up and got out of the tent and joined Daryl who was keeping watch by a very small fire. He looked up surprised when she sat down next to him.

"Trouble sleeping?"

"Yeah, my mind just keeps racing. I can keep watch if you want. You could use some sleep." Nova offered with a gentle smile.

"Nah, I'm good." Daryl declined.

"Mind if I keep you company then?" Nova asked to make sure he was okay with it, she didn't want to bother him.

"Sure. Helps me stay awake." Daryl tells her and watches her push her hair out of her face and behind her ears. She looked so young and vulnerable in that moment, Daryl loved when he got a glimpse of that side of her. It seemed like it only came out when nobody else was around or wasn't paying attention. He liked that she let her guard down around him.

"Do you think that farmhouse still stands?" Nova asked him after a while, referring to the old Greene farm, where the prison group had agreed to meet up should anything ever make them have to flee the prison.

"Don't really matter. It's just the meeting spot. If it still stands we might stay there for a while, if it doesn't, maybe we'll go with you guys or move on to somewhere else. Told ya, we'll have ta see what the others have ta say about it." Daryl explained and watched her nod, while she stared at the flames. "Should stay with us..." he muttered quietly after a moment of gathering up the courage.

"And leave my brothers forever?"

"Know it hurts, Nova, but they don't care. They had ta know something was wrong. I knew ya a couple a days and I saw it in your eyes after ya came out that day when ya paid for Beth. Can't fucking tell me that they had no idea. And even after... looked like they were madder at you than at the fucking bastard. That Paul guy barely reacted at all. Bigfoot overreacted... Think you'd be better off with us."

"Maybe,... in the end I am just trading one group that doesn't care about me, for another group that doesn't know me and surely doesn't care about me." Nova sighed deeply, not sure yet what to do.

"Ain't true,... 'bout not caring. I helped ya, didn't I? Beth begged ya ta come with us... Got at least two people that care when ya stay." Daryl admitted and hoped that the glow of the flames would cover the blush that had crept into his cheeks.

Nova looked at him, truly looked at him and studied his features. He looked so much younger than he was when you paid true attention. She felt the by now familiar clench and flutter of her stomach when he caught her eyes for a moment. She got sucked into it and seriously started to panic on the inside, because she felt like she was going under from the intensity of just that little look they were sharing. She looked away and was so flustered that she didn't know what she was doing when she grabbed his hand and pulled it to her mouth, gently kissing the back of it.

"You're sweet." She mumbled against his skin, while a wide-eyed Daryl watched her with his heart hammering inside his chest. Suddenly Nova came back to her senses and blushed furiously. She slowly released his hand, putting it back to rest on his knee and laughed in embarrassment. "Jesus... sorry... I didn't mean to turn into Danny there..."

"You didn't." Daryl murmured in astonishment and he swore to fucking God he felt his hand tingling where she had kissed him. "S'okay, I mean..."

He took a moment to gather his bearings, but he couldn't stop staring at her. His eyes kept flicking down to her mouth. The image of him kissing her pushing its way into his mind and he instantly knew that it was something he wanted to do. Badly. It was like she had opened a miniature version of Pandora's Box, by letting him feel her lips on his skin. He had acknowledged to himself that he liked her, but he had stayed away from any thoughts about kissing or more and now he couldn't stop thinking about it. The urge to do so was creeping into every fiber of his body. Damn he was just SO fucked.

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**AN: Thank you everybody for reading, following and favorite-ing.**

**Looks like Daryl snuck into Nova's mind and heart, just like she snuck into his. Little ninjas, those two.**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Somehow I get the impression that you will throw a huge party if Danny gets killed. Lol. Love it.**

** mamareadstomuch2: Oh yeah, Carol wants to do everything she can to get Nova away from Daryl. Too bad that she has to sleep and can't watch them every minute of the day. Beth should fill Nova in on what Carol is capable of so she can watch her back.**

** xamss: More Daryl/Nova cuteness for you. God yeah, his eyes. He's got nice eyes but he keeps them hidden behind that squint all the time. Okay, I guess it is kind of sexy, but it wouldn't hurt to see them open more. I love territorial Daryl as well, I am sure he will make an appearance sooner or later.**


	12. Chapter 12

Daryl was disappointed that Nova avoided him the next day. He figured that he must have fucked something up, although he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what. She had made herself damn invisible by walking behind Danny. Every time Daryl shot a quick look over his shoulder, he just saw Beth talking and looking next to her where Nova was, but the girl he wanted to see stayed hidden behind their own version of Bigfoot.

"You feeling okay? You seem a little out of sorts today." Carol's voice floated to his ear, reminding him that she was the one walking next to him today, instead of Nova.

"Fine." His answer was curt, but that was something she was used to from him, so it didn't faze her at all.

"Heard you and Nova talking by the fire. You should have taken her up on her offer." Carol told him, a look of dislike on her face. Daryl's head whipped around and he looked at her with his eyes widened slightly. For a moment he thought that maybe she hadn't just eavesdropped, but had watched them, too and was implying that Nova had wanted him to kiss her. But then Carol added, "you should have gone to sleep and let her do watch. You are wearing yourself out."

Daryl's eyes returned to their usual narrowed state, shooting the older woman a glare before he shifted his focus back to their surroundings. "Said I'm fine. Look out for walkers! 's more helpful than worrying 'bout me." He told her gruffly, hoping she would take the hint and keep her mouth shut. She wasn't any better than Danny. Just because they had let her come with didn't mean Daryl had forgiven her and she wasn't helping matters by taking Danny's side, like two nights before.

In the back Nova was working on auto-pilot, just occasionally nodding while Beth chatted away, telling her about her life on the farm and a boy named Jimmy and how they used to make out in the hay, trying to hide from her father. She felt bad that she wasn't really listening, but her own thoughts were all-consuming that day. She knew that you couldn't help who you liked. It just happens and the more you try to fight it, the more you like the person in the end. Feelings just have a way of ass-raping you and even though she knew that, she still tried to find a way to shut this thing with Daryl down. It couldn't happen. This was just not the time and place to develop a crush on a guy. That's why she was keeping her distance. She knew she wouldn't be able to make a rational decision about her future and where she wanted to be, if she let herself fall into this thing and this decision couldn't be made based on the fucking butterflies in her stomach she got just from seeing the soles of his damn shoes showing up behind Danny's legs on every other step he took. It just wasn't right. And it was freaking her out. And the fact that it freaked her out made her freak out even more, because it meant that something was truly happening to her. She wasn't one to freak easily, she's had some boyfriends and some hook-ups while she had traveled Europe and she knew how to keep her cool with guys, but Daryl made her loose that cool. That was just not good. She was truly panicking. She had to stay away or she would say and do more stupid things like kissing his goddamn hand. What the hell was that anyway? She was such an idiot, getting all worked up from a pair of pretty blue eyes. BLUE eyes. She had never liked blue eyes and now all she wanted was for them to stare at her forever and make her all fluttery and excited.

It couldn't happen though. Seeing Carol walking next to Daryl reminded her of yet another reason why it couldn't happen. Carol was in love with Daryl. And even if she didn't like Carol, there was the Girl Code and it just wasn't right to try to steal a man away from under her nose. Carol had liked him first. She had dibs, so to speak. Also she remembered Michael telling her that Carol was supposedly crazy, mentioned something about not wanting her to stand in front of his bed with a knife in her hand at night if he made her do something she didn't want. Nova didn't even really know where it was coming from, but suddenly she stopped walking.

"Hey, Carol." she shouted towards the short-haired woman. Carol turned around and before she could ask what was wrong Nova kept talking. "You killed someone, didn't you? From your group? That's why Rick kicked you out. Am I right?"

Carol looked at Nova unblinkingly, but the look Daryl and Beth exchanged already told Nova that she was right.

"They were sick." Carol started to explain. The whole group had stopped, Nova and Danny looking at Carol, waiting for her to go on, while Daryl and Beth kept looking around to make sure nothing was creeping up on them. "We had a bad flu break out in the prison. One of the teenagers, Patrick, he felt a little queasy in the afternoon. At night he died, he turned and killed a couple of others in the cellblock, turning them, too. It all happened so fast. It took just a day to kill him. Suddenly two others started showing symptoms. Karen and David, two people from Woodbury. We quarantined them. But I just kept thinking how fast that thing with Patrick had happened. How this thing would be able to wipe all of us out within just a couple of days... So I tried to stop it. Stop it from spreading and stop it from full-on breaking out. They were dying anyway, we didn't have meds. Daryl and the others had just decided to go to that veterinary college, but it would have taken at least 2 days for them to come back. Karen and David wouldn't have made it, I am sure of that. So I did what I had to do. I made it quick. They didn't suffer. Afterwards I dragged the bodies out to the yard and burned them. Hoping that it would have been the solution to keeping the outbreak from happening,... but it wasn't."

"Holy mother of God! You killed your own group members?" Danny looked at her appalled, causing Carol to fix him with a hard stare. "You killed your own father, Danny. You did it to keep Nova safe. I did it to keep Daryl and Beth and the rest of our people safe. So don't act like that with me now. You did exactly what I did."

"Those people were innocent... my old man wasn't."

"Doesn't change the facts. We do what we have to do in order to save the people we care about. They would have died a horrible death, they had blood coming out of every orifice. Their ears, their eyes, nose, mouth,... they choked on it. I made it quick..."

Danny pondered her words for a moment. He had to admit that she had a point. He might have done the same thing. Hell he had done the same thing by killing his father. He had no right to be appalled at all. His shock actually very quickly turned into admiration. He hadn't thought that Carol had it in her, but that woman was strong. A goddamn fighter who did what she had to do to protect her loved ones. Just like himself. They shared some common ground. Carol had never judged him for rashly killing his father. She even had his back when he had argued with Daryl. She had tried and just failed, but at least she had tried. That guy Rick was just a coward, scared of a strong woman. He probably just felt threatened by Carol, knowing that she could take over leadership and be better at it than he ever was. Well she had his back, he would have Carol's back, he vowed to himself.

"You're right. We both did what we had to do. I think you made the right choice. The life of one for the lives of many others..."

"Exactly." Carol gave Danny a little smile, glad they understood each other and shared the same view.

"You're both fucking crazy." Nova scoffed and pushed past them to keep walking, forgetting that it would make her end up next to Daryl again. She had one more reason to add to the list of why she shouldn't let herself fall for Daryl: Carol might literally kill her. And then burn her. And then Danny would shoot Carol. And then Daryl would shoot Danny. Nope, she'd rather suffer silently, pining for Daryl in secret for a couple more days until they reached the farm and then she would just go back to the bunker with Danny. She would feel heartbroken for the whole trek back, but then she would be over it and forget about Daryl and she would be avoiding a major blood bath. Everybody wins.

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Another night brought another fire. They still had a couple of days ahead of them Daryl figured, but they were making good progress. He had shot an owl. It almost brought a smile to his face, when he remembered the last owl he'd had. Just an hour or so before he and Rick had found the prison.

"Oh no, another nerd goes down." Nova had commented when the owl had fallen out of the tree.

"What the fuck you talking 'bout?" Daryl had looked at her quizzically.

"It's an owl. They wear glasses. They are the nerds of the forest. You big bully just killed a nerd with your cool crossbow." Nova had explained, but all Daryl had been able to do was just shake his head with an amused smirk grazing his lips.

"Wish I had your problems, woman." he had scoffed while he had gone to retrieve the fallen bird.

Now they were sitting around the small fire, nibbling the meat off of the small owl bones.

"Danny, what do you miss?" Beth started up her "game" again, this time with Danny.

"TV. I also miss playing sports. Having a drink at the bar. Pizza nights..."

"Sex with all the girls who used to swarm you at the bar." Nova added for him. She didn't even know why she spoke up or why she made the stupid decision to get in on that particular conversation at all, but she just wanted to get her mind off of Daryl, who sat across from her and she had to fight so hard not to look at him.

"They were nice,... but who says I've had sex with them? Maybe I am saving myself for you." Danny told her with a smile.

"Oh, so you wanna die a virgin then?" Nova asked casually, her head snapping up, when Daryl scoffed out a laugh across from them. Nova quickly looked down again when their eyes met briefly, not wanting to get sucked into those baby blues again.

"Very funny." Danny shot Daryl a hard glare, before he nudged Nova with his elbow. "Okay, so I'm not a virgin. But I only slept with girls to get my skills up for you."

That made Nova sputter and actually really laugh. "Oh, how romantic, Danny. Really. Good to know that you slept with all those other girls JUST for me. You are unbelievable. Still, never gonna happen, babe. Never."

"Not even if it was my dying wish?" Danny looked at her curiously.

"Nope."

"Why the hell not? If I'm dying? Seriously? You can't even kiss me then?"

"On the cheek, but everything else? No. Danny, when are you finally going to understand, that I am just not attracted to you at all? I don't want to be mean here, you know I love you, but you are my brother. Seriously, the thought of kissing you on the lips makes me gag. Not because you are not good-looking, you are, but you are my third brother. And that should make you happy, because as a family member you will always have my love." Nova explained once again, gently but firmly, why it will never happen.

"Hm, so what you are saying is really NEVER?"

"Jesus Christ, Danny..." Nova sighed deeply, but Danny laughed and nudged her again.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, alright?" He turned more serious for once, knowing that he is taking it a bit too far if he keeps on bugging her. "I know. I know that you will never see me that way and I guess that's okay. I can deal with it, you still love me, you are still in my life and that's the most important thing for me. I can't help how I feel though. You will always be 'that girl' for me, that one special girl. You helped me out a lot, you were always there at a time when everybody else just left."

"But then I left, too."

"Yes. You did. And that hurt like a motherfucker. Five years, Nova. You promised. One year, you said."

"Things changed, Danny. My dreams came true,... I was living the life I always wanted to live. Traveling different countries, working different jobs, meeting tons of new people and learning about new cultures..."

"I know and I was happy that you got to do that. It just hurt to find out that I wasn't included in your dreams. I was just a teenager, Nova. You know what it's like. I was completely smitten with you and then you were gone and I felt like I was dying. Every time you sent a postcard was the happiest day of the month. I think maybe that's what kept the fantasy alive. You kept in touch and that kept my hopes up. Then you came back and wow,... you had changed so much, you'd become a woman and that didn't help matters at all. And then I finally got to help you out and we bonded again and then being stuck in a bunker with you as the only woman for two years didn't help matters once again... We just kept getting stuck together again and again. Guess the teenage boy inside of me always saw that as some kind of sign. Clearly I still have a lot of growing up to do." Danny smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Clearly." Nova laughed, but she wasn't laughing AT him. "Trust me, I am nothing special. Just like any other girl out there. Your 14 year old self just put me on this pedestal and you are super loyal, so you just lifted me higher and higher and had this fantasy of me in your head, but let me tell you, it's not gonna be anything like reality. I am in no way this perfect girl you always say I am. Perfect is boring anyway."

"That's your point of view, not mine. I wish I could do the same. Think of you as a sister, but it's not happening. I tried. Do you think I wanna be like this? It's not fun. It used to be fun... back in the old days after you came back. Our brothers teased me about it,... we teased each other. I had girlfriends, I had gotten over it, but the time in the bunker just made it worse again. Really bad, obviously. The thought of you being with some other guy... what my dad did to you... It makes me so jealous and mad,... it literally made me kill him. I don't want to be like this, Nova. I see how you've been looking at me lately. I piss you off, I know that and I hate that. I try to be different, but I can't help it." Danny tried to explain what was going on inside of him. Carol, Beth and Daryl just sat there watching them, not interrupting. They knew that this talk between them had been long overdue from the looks of things. Daryl wasn't buying what Danny was selling, though. It felt very much like an act to him, but maybe he was imagining things. He didn't know the guy too well and he was a little jealous of Danny as well for the relationship he already had with Nova, which made him naturally suspicious.

"Can't help it isn't an excuse, Danny. You will have to try harder. We need distance. That is why I left. And I think once we get back I should pack some more of my things and go somewhere else for a while. This isn't healthy anymore, Danny. You have to get rid of me. Inside of you, I mean. And the only way to achieve that is fucking distance. I wish you would have just stayed back at the bunker. This isn't helping you at all. You have to stop breathing life into the past. It died for a reason. Let it go and move on. I won't let you travel back to the bunker alone, but if we make it back there, I'll be out of your life after that. You best start getting used to the idea. I won't be talking much to you from here on out and I don't want you to talk to me unless its absolutely necessary. I am not doing it to hurt you, I am doing it to help you."

"Man this just sucks." Danny sighed deeply. Nova put her hand on his face and kissed his cheek and blew him the verbal kiss of death.

"Goodbye Danny." she whispered. Then she got up and crawled into her tent without another word, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.

Daryl watched Danny warily. To him, the guy was a ticking time bomb. A gun with a hair trigger. Daryl would make extra sure to watch his own AND Nova's back. Danny was capable of anything, who knew if he wouldn't go all 'if I can't have you, nobody can' on them and would try to hurt Nova. He was his father's son after all, nobody knows how much of Michael Wolff's sick mind had been passed down to his sons. Daryl knew that he was number one on Danny's kill list right now, after he had dared to look into Nova's eyes longingly, as Danny had put it. Still, Daryl had the morbid curiosity to find out how Danny would have reacted to Nova kissing Daryl's hand yesterday night. But the little glee that was building inside Daryl when he remembered the events of the previous night quickly died down again when he remembered that Nova hadn't talked to him all day, except for those two sentences when he had killed that owl. It was like they had taken one step forward and ten steps back and Daryl didn't know how to interpret her behavior.

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At noon the next day, Nova still hadn't talked to Daryl. She hadn't really talked to anybody and Daryl felt pathetic and whiny, because he had the urge to go up to her and ask her why she was mad at him and why she wasn't talking to him. He got stuck with Carol again, while Beth was walking next to Danny and Nova was alone in the back. When they took a little bathroom and drink break Nova was leaning against a tree, looking straight ahead, while Daryl walked a little circle around a couple of trees. This made him appear to be casually passing by Nova, although he didn't walk past her, he stopped and looked at her face, while she kept staring at some point in the distance.

"Ya feelin' alright?" Daryl asked her, quickly clearing his throat when his voice came out a little croaky. He just wasn't sure what to make of the situation between them and it made him hella insecure.

"Yeah, I'm good. I wanna do watch tonight. You really have to get some sleep. You look like hell." Her voice was scratchier than usual, from disuse, Daryl figured, but it was the best thing he had heard all day and it settled over him like a warm, cozy blanket.

"I'm fine." Daryl reassured her, but she wouldn't have it. She finally turned and looked at him, her voice gruff, but there was caring in her eyes.

"No, Daryl. You don't have superhuman stamina. You need your rest. You haven't slept properly in forever. Won't help anybody if you collapse on us. I took off my jacket, so I wouldn't get a heatstroke and slow you down, although it makes me feel less safe. If I can do that, you sure as hell can lay down in that fucking tent and sleep for 6-8 hours. We clear?"

Daryl looked at her and chewed on his lip, before he nodded mutely. She had a point and he really was tired, but he worried. He wanted to make sure she was safe, but then again, he couldn't do that if he collapsed again. "Fine."

That night after they had their dinner of canned chicken noodle soup Daryl retreated into one of the tent, albeit hesitantly. Carol and Beth soon followed. Danny stayed, which didn't make it easier for Daryl to fall asleep. He heard Danny try to talk to Nova a couple of times, but she didn't respond and after his fourth try, he gave up and when it grew quiet, Daryl eventually fell asleep.

Nova sat by the fire alone, grateful for those couple of hours of solitude. It allowed her to let her tears fall freely down her cheeks. The whole thing with Danny had just tired her out. That was exactly what she had wanted to get away from. She hated all that drama Danny was bringing with him. Life was too short to worry about crap like that and it just stressed her out that he had made her deal with it for the past couple of days. Then there was Daryl. Freezing him out was hurting her more than she had thought it would. She liked him, he was fun. Not fun in the traditional sense, but he had this own way about him. Maybe that's what drew her to him, his attitude. He didn't give a fuck what other people thought about him, much like her. It was refreshing to meet someone like him. She liked his honesty. He wasn't kissing up to her, blowing smoke up her ass, no, he told her that she wasn't a teenager anymore, because she had crow's feet. Somehow she had loved that. She hadn't been offended at all, she had been a little charmed even back then if she was completely honest with herself. Well, she usually was attracted to real assholes, so redneck charm making her weak in the knees shouldn't be a surprise. Her mother would have gotten a kick out of Daryl. She had loved guys with an edge, as she had called it. Daryl had an edge alright, but he also seemed to be a real sweetheart. The way he had gone off on Michael when he had seen the marks on her thighs had just stunned her. He cared about people and even before the apocalypse, finding those kind of people had been a rarity. He was a true gem in this dark and unforgiving world. No wonder Carol loved him.

The other thing that overwhelmed Nova a little bit was, that she just didn't really know what to do. She couldn't stay at the bunker, she had figured out that much. Keeping herself that close to Danny just wasn't going to work or the poor guy would end up going off the deep end some day. She knew that this unrequited love could one day turn into a rather unhealthy obsession. In some cases it could end deadly and it really didn't have to go that far if she could keep it from happening. She would have to stay away. She knew her brothers wouldn't follow her. She wouldn't even want them, too. Josh's safety was more important to her than anything in this world. Daryl had been right, the truth hurt, but sometime in the past couple of years Nova and her brothers had drifted apart. It had been years in the making with them spending years apart. Her mother had been the glue that had held the family together. When she had passed away, they had started drifting. She loved her brothers fiercely, but sometimes she wondered if they felt the same love for her. She was the only adopted one. She knew Alex and Josh loved each other to death, but she didn't really feel the love coming back to her in the same intensity. Or maybe it was just something of an adopted-child-syndrome that made her feel less loved, if that was even a thing. Their parents had never treated her differently, she had always felt loved by them, but now with everything that had happened, she really found herself questioning her brothers feelings toward her. Their reactions to the whole Michael-thing had been a little off. Had they known? Or at least suspected? She would probably never know, but the question would always remain stuck in her head.

She suddenly heard rustling and pulled her knife, only to realize that it came from inside one of the tents. She released the breath she had been holding and looked at her watch. Time had just flown by it was 4.30 am already, but it was still dark. The opening flap of the tent behind her zipped open and she felt her heart beating faster, because she knew that it was Daryl. He sat down next to her on the log in front of the fire and grabbed a water bottle.

"Mornin'."

"Good morning, Daryl. Now tell me that those 7 hours of sleep didn't feel damn good." She smiled at him, but looked back into the fire when he looked back at her and tried to catch her gaze. Even in the glow of the fire he noticed her red-rimmed, glassy eyes and he was sure they weren't caused by fatigue. With the cap of the water bottle still in hand, he reached said hand out and put his index finger under her chin, turning her face towards him again. He studied her face and looked into her dark eyes for a long moment, but Nova felt the familiar panic rise deep inside her belly again, when they locked eyes and jerked her head away.

"You cried." Daryl stated quietly, a little disappointed that she had pulled away.

"I hate crying,... Just had to sort some things out I guess." She mumbled. "The Danny-drama wore me out."

"But you took care of it, it's gonna be alright now."

"Maybe..."

"You sort out what ya wanna do when we get to the farm?" Daryl asked carefully, he didn't know how to act around her, since he hadn't been quite able to gauge her mood yet.

"No. I just have no idea. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Once thing is for certain though. No more bunker. If I stay there it's just a matter of time until it will turn into a mass grave. A tomb."

"That's what I been tellin' ya. Best for ya ta stay with us."

"I can't do that either."

That shocked Daryl. So she had figured out what she wanted to do after all. Her answer pissed him off and his voice rose in volume when his agitation got the better of him.

"Why the fuck not?"

Nova looked at him and quickly held her finger up to her lips, motioning for him to quiet down. She made the mistake of looking at him, he was sitting so close, their bodies only millimeters apart, they lightly touched with every movement and for a moment he literally stole her breath. Her hand moved on its own, it gently placed itself on his jaw, her thumb lightly caressing his scruff while she looked into his beautiful eyes. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to kiss him.

"I can't stay with you. It would cause even more problems and drama." She mumbled quietly, her thumb finding its way toward his bottom lip and she softly stroked it over the little patch of hair underneath is lip.

"Why?" he questioned quietly, while the longing for the woman to make the first move to show him that he wasn't imagining things was burning him from the inside out.

"Because you're not mine to take." Nova mumbled and before he could ask her what the hell she meant by that, they jumped apart when the other tent zipped open and Carol came out, her disapproving eyes settling on Nova after she had noticed how close the two were sitting together.

"Good morning." The older woman said, her hard eyes turning soft, when they moved to Daryl and she gave him a warm smile. A smile he didn't even notice, because Nova had just confused the living daylights out of him. He had absolutely no idea what she had meant. For the first time in years he had the desire to throttle Carol for interrupting them. Now it would be a long ass day of waiting until he would get Nova alone and could question her about her statement and who knew if she would respond. She was good at ignoring people.

"Ta hell with this!" He growled aggressively and kicked the bottle of water into the fire without thinking when he stomped off to take a piss. Nova didn't even flinch, she just kept her eyes in front of her, while Carol jerked in surprise over Daryl's sudden outburst and wondered what exactly she had been interrupting this time.

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**AN: Thank you for reading everybody! A warm welcome to every new reader. Thank you for spending your time reading this.**

**Woke up early this morning and got myself two hours bonus writing time, so a little longer chapter for you today! Hope you like it.**

**Sooooo I am curious, do you think Danny redeemed himself a little bit or are you with Daryl and think it's an act?**

** DarylDixon'sLover: I guess you still have some time to plan the party. Danny and Carol are annoying yes, but they make for some good drama;) Hang in there. xoxo**

** Nemu-Chan: Thank you so much. Carol is definitely jealous and Danny just admitted that not being able to have Nova literally drives him up the wall, so we will have to see if her plan of ignoring him actually works.**

** WayPastMyBedtime: You love Nova, don't you? That makes me all fluttery and excited. Is that weird? haha. Danny is my baby, he just lost his way a little. My father once told me that the love for a woman can drive a man literally insane, so I guess that is what Danny is suffering from a little here. Will he come back from it? Hmm, we'll have to wait and see:)**

** goddess of the nigth: Thank you so much for being a fan. I enjoy the slow burn in this very much, as well. I would love to write just Daryl/Nova, so bringing other characters in is me challenging myself to be a better writer and to improve myself. So far i think it iw working and I am having a lot of fun with this. Thank you for readin!**

** Bella87: Don't worry about writing in English, it is my preferred language anyway;-) Everybody wants Danny dead, but sorry, he just brings so much drama to the story, it would be too easy to just kill him off. Not yet anyways:) Greetings from Niedersachsen.**

** mamareadstomuch2: Is it bad that i have never ever seen the little mermaid? Never saw Lion King or any of those other kids/disney movies either. Dumbo, I remember Dumbo and Alf, lol although that's not really a kid movie, but I still love the furry fella to pieces. Daryl does indeed want to kiss the girl, lol, but she is confusing the hell out of him, by not talking and then being affectionate and then not talking again. Then there are Danny and Carol who don't make things easier... ahhhh yeah, slow burn indeed. But i like to think it's a slow, but INTENSE burn, lol. xoxo**

** MonkeysGoBoo: Bam and Bam, there you go! Daryl/Nova AND a quick update. Hope you liked. Killing Carol off, hmmm maybe, but not very soon, I guess.**

** xamss: Seems like Daryl is not quite sure yet whether she really likes him or not, but she is not making it easy on him either. So, what do you think? Is Danny just a victim of his own feelings or is he fooling everyone with the things he told Nova in this chapter? He seems to know that he is going too far, but will it actually stop him from trying?**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN 1: To those of you who are still looking for great Daryl/OC stories to read, check out "Armored Love" by xamss. Awesome story with an amazing OFC, you won't be disappointed!**

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When the sun came up later, they continued their journey to the Greene farm. With every step they took closer to their destination, Daryl grew more aware of the fact that his time with Nova might be over soon. He kept thinking about what she had said. "You're not mine to take." What the hell did she mean by that? He wasn't fucking property, nobody owned him. He kept brooding over it for hours, but he wasn't able to come up with an answer to his questions. He would have to ask Nova and hope to God that she would give him an answer.

"Heads up,... oh shhhiiiiit..." Danny stopped walking and stood watching in awe. He had never seen anything like it. Daryl's head snapped up and his heart started beating faster in his chest. A herd. Not that humongous one from a couple of weeks ago, but still big enough to know they were fucked. The only good news was, that they were coming from the direction of the farm. They'd just have to circle around them.

"Run!" Daryl bit out and turned to face the woods to take off into them. "I said run, Nova, c'mon!" He grabbed her arm and tugged her along behind him when he started running into the woods. Nova stumbled a bit from suddenly being yanked into another direction, but quickly regained her footing and ran with all she had. She did NOT want to face that herd and get ripped to shreds. They had just run for a minute, when a couple of walkers popped out from behind the trees. Nova startled and fell back when a rotting hand was grabbing for her. She swung her axe, feeling like gagging a little when the hand fell and landed on her belly. A moment later she made a face when the rest of the walker slumped down on her. She pulled the arrow out, that was peeking out from the back of the walkers head and quickly sprang back to her feet when another one approached. She was shaking on the inside again, she hated facing these things.

Two minutes later the growling noises had died down, and the walkers were on the ground. The group gathered for a moment to catch their breath.

"Everyone alright? Anyone bit or scratched?" Carol asked panting while she cleaned off her knife on her pants. They all shook their heads no. Nobody had been injured thankfully.

"Good, let's keep going." Daryl said and was just about to turn around, when Nova's voice stopped him.

"Hey,... here." She handed him his bolt she had retrieved, earning herself a nod from the hunter. Daryl let his gaze linger on her for a second, quickly checking her over, before he took off in a jog again. The others followed Daryl's lead.

They were almost out of the woods a half hour later and had slowed down to a walk again. Daryl was in the lead and Danny in the back, keeping an eye on the girls that were walking between them.

"Are you okay?" he asked and Nova wanted to sigh out loud, because she knew it was directed at her. She had told him to only talk to her if absolutely necessary and this wasn't necessary. It was like he was testing how far he could go again. She ignored him and just kept walking and Danny felt his temperature rise from anger.

"Nova! I asked you something."

He was once again met with silence, his anger starting to boil inside of him, the adrenalin in his body from fighting and running wasn't helping him calm down either.

"Nova! Seriously? Now I can't even ask if you're okay? Nova!" When she didn't even acknowledge him something inside of him snapped so suddenly, that it surprised himself. With two long strides he was behind her. He grabbed her arm hard and spun her around roughly, now grabbing both her arms and shaking her a little while he yelled at her. "ANSWER ME DAMNIT!"

"Hey! Hey!" Three different voices were yelling the words at the same time, all of them surprised by Danny's violent outburst.

"Let her go! Danny, I said let her go!" Beth was hitting her fists against one of Danny's arm until Daryl charged over and pushed Danny away from Nova with all he had. When Danny loosened his grip, Nova fell on her ass and Beth and Carol both helped her back up, while Daryl tackled Danny to the ground.

"Are you okay, Nova?" Carol asked her genuinely concerned and checked Nova's arms where Danny had gripped her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"This might bruise." Carol liked Danny, but she didn't tolerate abusive assholes like Ed.

"We gotta help, Daryl. Danny will kill him." Nova looked over where the two men were rolling around on the ground, trading hard blows. She ran to the two of them, followed by Carol and Beth and watched helplessly, not knowing what to do or how to separate them without getting hurt herself. She yelped in shock, when a gunshot went off next to her. Carol was standing there, gun raised in the air.

"Enough!" she said when both men stopped and looked at her. "We have to get going. This surely will attract the walkers." She put her gun back and reached her hands out to Daryl who was bleeding from the nose. When Daryl was on his feet again she turned to Danny.

"You need to get a grip on yourself. Forcing yourself on Nova won't make her change her mind. Quite the opposite. Now you leave that girl alone, you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am." Danny nodded mutely and looked at Nova. "I'm sorry, Novi."

"Don't talk ta her. And if ya ever fuckin' touch her again, I-"

"Daryl, stop! You two stay away from each other as well. We have other things to worry about. Let's go. We have to get out of here." Carol told them sternly and when they heard rustling behind them, they quickly went on their way.

"Thank you." Nova whispered to Beth, who just smiled at her.

"It's what we do."

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They came across a little town soon and decided to look for shelter. Danny and Daryl both had gotten a couple of good blows in and needed to be tended to. The men refused, but the women insisted and with 3 against 2, the women got their way. They found a little townhouse with still intact fences. This time they went in and killed the three walkers that were shuffling around inside, before they barricaded the doors with heavy furniture.

"Carol, do you want to take a look at Danny's cuts? I'll take care of Daryl." Beth asked Carol while Nova handed Beth the first aid kit from her pack.

"Yeah sure. You okay Nova?" Carol asked Nova once more, letting her gaze flick from Nova's eyes down to her arms and back. She could see some faint bruises already forming on her skin.

"I'm fine." Nova reassured her once more. "Should open a can of fruit or something?"

"Oh you know what? Why don't you take a look at Daryl's injuries and I will take care of the food?" Beth smiled at Nova and sent her a knowing wink, which almost had Nova gaping at Beth. Did the young girl know about her crush on Daryl?

"Um,... 'kay. That okay with you?" Nova looked at Daryl inquisitively.

"'S fine." He shrugged.

"Alright. Let's go to the bathroom, see if the water still works." She led the way and Daryl followed her, sitting down on the edge of the bathtub. Nova closed the door and put the first aid kit on top of the lid of the toilet.

"Any major pain? Like fractured ribs or something like that?" Nova asked him while she eyed the cut on his cheek.

"Nah, just bumped my head on a rock I think. Scraped ma neck, too I think." Daryl said quietly and watched her come closer. Her front lightly pressed against his arm while she gently pulled back the collar of his shirt from the back of his neck and craned her head to see the extend of the damage.

"Yeah, big scrape, but nothing too bad. I'll clean it up in a minute and put something ointment on it." Then she gently burrowed her fingers in his unruly hair, marveling at how soft it was. Daryl closed his eyes for a moment, he knew she was just checking for a cut or a bump, but it felt so fucking good how her fingers were combing through his strands.

"Nothing's bleeding. Your nose looks fine, too. You got lucky. Danny's strong. Could have easily broken a couple of bones." Nova mumbled and stepped away from him, getting out an antiseptic swab from the first aid kit. She crouched down in front of him and gently dabbed at the cut on his cheek to clean and disinfect it.

"What did you mean?" Daryl asked quietly after studying her face for a moment. "I'm not yours to take. What does that mean?" he asked again when her expression turned quizzical.

"Nothing. I was tired, didn't know what I was saying." Nova tried to talk her way out of the situation.

"Bullshit. You knew exactly what you were saying. I think I have a right ta know what it means, don't I?"

"We shouldn't be talking about this. There is enough going on as it is. We shouldn't even be in this room together. Not alone."

"Why? You afraid of me or somethin'?" Daryl was puzzled, she didn't make any sense.

"In a way,... yes." Nova told him and got up to take care of the scrape on his neck.

"You don't make any sense woman, ya know that? I just want ya ta explain ta me why ya ain't gonna stay. Why ya CAN'T stay with us." Daryl was growing exasperated. Why didn't Nova ever give up any answers. Oh that's right, because it's him. Maybe he should send Beth to ask her, she tells her everything, he thought bitterly.

"I can't tell you. Not without ratting somebody else out and that's not my style."

"Rat who out? Danny? What? Nova, I swear to God,..." she was driving Daryl up the wall by not answering him properly. She let the used swab fall into the old dirty tub behind Daryl and buried her hand in the hair at the back of his head once more. She leaned her head down and buried her nose into the hair on top of his head. He was dirty, but his hair still didn't smell bad. Why is boy hair always so soft and still smells good without having been washed in nearly a week? It was just unfair. She just relished in his smell for a long moment until she used her free hand and put it on his jaw to tilt up his face. They were so close now, their noses were touching. Daryl tentatively brought his arm around her waist to pull her closer. He closed his eyes, when the tip of their noses gently rubbed against one another, trading eskimo kisses. He knew it was gonna happen, she was going to kiss him, he was already holding his breath in anticipation. Her thumb traced along his bottom lip, making a thousand butterflies in his stomach flutter around excitedly, when he felt her hot breath on his lips. So close now...

"I'm sorry,... you have to let it go." Nova whispered, her voice dismayed. Daryl's eyes snapped open and he pushed her away not too gently.

"The fuck, woman?! You fucking like playin' with me? Jerkin' me around? First you do this and then ya go back and ain't talking ta me for a whole day? Fuck this, I ain't doin' more of this shit! Ya know what? You're just as fucked up as that idiot out there. Good thing ya leaving anyway. Don't need ya around ta screw with ma head!" He yanked the door open and stomped outside towards one of the other rooms to be alone. Nova took several deep breaths when tears threatened to fall. He was angry. Good. She needed him to be angry at her. It would make it easier for her to say good-bye. If only he would like Carol back. That would make leaving him so much more easier. Damn her fucking integrity. How she wished she could just take what she wanted without paying attention to her conscience.

Nova didn't even realize that the tears had started to fall anyway, until a sob wracked her body. She braced herself on the sink and closed her eyes and tried to get her emotions in check.

"Nova?"

Nova scoffed out a laugh when she heard Carol's voice. "Now is not really a good time, Carol."

Carol came in and closed the door behind her. "I think it is. We should talk."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Not right now." Nova roughly wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, but Carol wouldn't budge. She sat down on the edge of the tub, the seat that had previously been occupied by Daryl and sighed quietly.

"Daryl likes you." Carol stated with a sad smile.

"Don't worry Carol. I know we might have our differences, but I am not bitch enough to make a move." Nova sniffed, hating to show vulnerability in front of the other woman.

"But he wants you to. I've watched you two, I heard you two talk... You like him, too."

"I don't want to, Carol, believe me, I don't. I don't know what happened, it was just so quick, came out of nowhere." Nova tried to justify herself. She knew what it felt like to get one's heart broken and even though she didn't like Carol too much, she didn't want to intentionally hurt her.

"You can't help it. I know that. I also know that he doesn't like ME that way. He never looked at me the way he looks at you. I don't like it, but I know that's the way it is. I wanted to keep you two apart, you know?" Carol admitted, making Nova laugh.

"I don't blame you. I would have done the same."

"It was selfish of me. Daryl deserves all the good things he can get. He deserves to be happy. I am just sad that I can't make him happy. Hurts a little to be honest. But I guess I deserve it. I hurt him deeply by doing what I did. All I can hope for is to get our friendship back to the way it was. I hope I'll get the chance to do it."

"I'm sure you will. Probably just takes some time."

"I won't like it, Nova, it might hurt me to see you two together, but if you two want to be together,... I am not standing in your way." Carol stated with a brave smile, but Nova could see tears glistening in her eyes.

"That's big of you Carol. Honestly. But I think I just fucked it up."

"He'll come around. He always does. Just give him some time to cool down. Don't know what went down, just heard him yell and stomp around. Whatever it was, I am sure it will blow over. Daryl never stays mad for too long."

"What about Danny? He'd kill Daryl if we'd ever..."

"Don't worry about Danny, Nova. I'll keep an eye on him. Who knows, maybe I'll go back with him. Back to the bunker. It wasn't the worst place to live. At least it was safe and with Michael gone it could be a pretty nice set up."

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

The two women fell silent, Nova was too distracted by her thoughts to notice that Carol was studying her. She wasn't very fond of Nova, but she knew that the girl was strong, was protective of the ones she cared about and had a good attitude. As much as it pained her to admit it, but she would be good for Daryl. Maybe she would be able to teach him not to take some things too seriously. Carol would have loved to live in denial, but she knew things between herself and Daryl wouldn't ever completely go back to the way they used to be. She knew there was no chance of them ever being anything more than friends. What Nova had said to Danny had struck a cord with Carol. Stop breathing life into the past. It died for a reason, let go and move on. She had just let Daryl go. Now it was time to move on.

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When Beth had their food ready, Daryl still hadn't come out to join them. Carol wordlessly pushed a bowl of food for Daryl into Nova's hands, before she refilled Danny's bowl and handed it to him with a smile. Nova got up and walked to the only room with a closed door. She was a nervous wreck, she was scared Daryl would kick her out or yell at her some more.

She knocked quietly and carefully opened the door and slipped into the room. Daryl was leaning against the wall next to a window, watching the street. He turned his head to see who was bothering him and quickly looked out the window again when he saw Nova.

"Brought you some food."

"Just put it there." he motioned to the desk with his chin.

"Can we talk? Please?"

"Fine. What happened to your Ma?" He crossed his arms, still staring out the window. Nova's brows knit in confusion.

"My mother? Why do you want to know?"

"You wanna talk, so let's talk. Ya said she died before the outbreak? She kill herself, too?"

"No,... cancer,... when I was 15." Nova was still puzzled and Daryl noticed it with satisfaction. She had confused the shit out of him, now it was his turn.

"Ya said you're from Germany? How'd you talk to anyone when ya came here? Knew our language or something?"

"No. My father, I mean my adoptive father, he was half-German. He spoke fluently and he taught our mother and Alex. Josh was just a year old back then, wasn't talking yet. School was hard at first, but kids pick up a language pretty quick and my parents practiced with me a lot. Got fluent pretty quickly."

"That Michael guy fuck ya? Or just beat the hell outta ya for payment?" Daryl continued to fire off questions. If she wanted to talk to him she would just have to keep answering his questions. He would not back down this time. She owed him after all the confusing shit she pulled on him.

"Never fucked me. It was just the punishment stuff that got him off. Putting me over his knee and stuff like that." Nova shuddered when she remembered some of the stuff he did to her.

"Don't need the details." Daryl said softly, looking at her for the first time since she stepped into the room. He was truly disgusted by Michael for doing stuff like that. Using her need to protect her family for his own sexual gratification. The scumbag had gotten what he'd deserved.

"Okay." Nova nodded and waited for his next question.

"Gonna lemme see your tattoo again?"

"Uhm, yeah... sure." She replied, wondering if he meant that he wanted to see it right now. She watched him bite his bottom lip and shuffle his feet and before she could open her mouth to ask when he wanted to see it, he spoke up again.

"Ya think you're done fucking with me anytime soon? 'Cause I'm getting damn tired of it." he muttered defeated and Nova released a deep sigh.

"I know that must have been confusing. I didn't mean to jerk you around. I was weak. I didn't want to step on anyone's toes, but you kept pulling me in..."

"Tell me what ya meant. Ya wanna make this right? Then that's what ya gotta do."

"Carol had dibs..." Nova told him and watched Daryl's eyes widen.

"Aw c'mon, ya gotta be fucking kidding me, right? That's what it's about?" He couldn't believe that Nova had acted that way because of Carol. "Did she tell ya to stay away?"

"No, she didn't. She didn't need to. It's Girl Code. You don't make a move on someone somebody else from your group likes."

"Damnit, woman. So that means ya gonna keep this up? Be all hot one moment and ice cold the next?"

"No."

"No, what? Don't fucking start with those one-word answers again, Nova. I'll lose it!" He growled, already pacing.

"She gave up, alright?" That made him stop in his tracks.

"SHE gave up? She don't fucking own me! I decide what I wanna do. Not her, not you! ME!"

"Yes Daryl, I know that. It's just... complicated I guess. I didn't want to hurt her, by stealing you away from under her nose."

"Right." Daryl scoffed. "Ya still sound like I'm her goddamn property. I said it before and I'll say it again, I ain't nobody's bitch. Don't nobody fucking own me. Fucking women! Get out and leave me be."

"Daryl, nobody meant tha-"

"Get the fuck out! Now!" he yelled at her and Nova gave up, remembering what Carol had told her. He needed time and space to calm down. Nova went back to the bathroom and thought about how much shit has been happening in the groups because of her. The whole Michael-thing? Her fault. Her brothers and Paul being left in charge by themselves to take care of everything because Danny had followed her? Her fault. Danny slowly going insane? Her fault. Danny and Daryl fighting? Her fault. Carol hurting because she had to get out of denial and let Daryl go? Her fault. Daryl flipping out like that? Her fault.

Maybe it was time to make things right once and for all, she thought when she looked out the bathroom window. It wasn't high. She could jump out, find a car and go somewhere else entirely. Everybody wins.

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**AN 2: Thank you for reading everybody.**

**Who saw Carol being that nice to Nova coming? Hope you enjoyed this one.**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Patience, my dear!:)**

** Nemu-Chan: Yes, Danny clearly still needs some work. He seems to be reaching his breaking point these days. Daryl is just overwhelmed with everythin right now, but he'll come around and make things right, I'm sure.**

** mamareadstomuch2: I have no idea what Fraggle Rock is. I googled it, but I think it might have never aired in Germany or I just never saw it. Well anyway, I am very sorry about your lady junk, but trust me mine ist faring any better. I just get crazy images of Daryl and Nova making out in my head these days, I guess it won't be that much longer until it happens. Slow burn ist starting to turn into a small fire.**

** WayPastMyBedtime: Yeah, the jury is still out on Danny, although this chapter he didn't look to good again either. Well, Carol said she'd watch him, maybe he'll calm down under her watch. He knows what she is capable of after all.**

** xamss: Well looks like Daryl is still confused as shit and it makes him very very angry. Hell yeah, angry Daryl is so hot. But then he turns into apologetic, sweet Daryl afterwards and that is so freaking adorable that you wanna hug and kiss him all over. Oh man, that man is just killing me these days.**

** Sachi1988: Hmmm, what are Carol and Danny up to? Or maybe they aren't up to anything and we're just naturally suspicous?**


	14. Chapter 14

**I have a link to a pic of Nova's tattoo on my profile for those who want a visual. Found it on google a long while back, but haven't been able to track down the original source, so I can't give proper credit. Sorry. Enjoy.**

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Nova quietly snuck out of the bathroom and into the hall where she had left her pack leaning against a wall. She grabbed it and tip-toed back into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She hoped she would find a car that didn't have to be hotwired. Daryl knew how to do that, she had overheard him telling Beth not to worry about finding car keys, that he had it covered. Well, Nova didn't have it covered, she would have to find a car with keys or she would have to walk to wherever she wanted to go. She quickly packed the first aid kit, that still sat open on the toilet, before she opened the bathroom window and chucked her pack out of it. She followed and even though it wasn't even high, she lost her balance and fell on her ass. How in the world she had ever planned on being a ballerina was beyond her. She had the grace of an elephant.

Grumbling at herself under her breath she lifted the pack on her back and ducked to stay out of sight when she went around the house to get to the street. She felt awful. This was not her usual territory and she was all alone. Not a nice feeling in these times, but she was sure that what she was doing would be best for the group. Danny could return back to normal, Carol could go back into denial and live happily ever after and Daryl wouldn't be fucked with by her anymore because she was too weak to stay away. Yes, she had Carol's blessing, but she understood why Daryl was pissed and wanted nothing to do with her anymore. It was best to end all this right now.

She hadn't even reached the street yet, when she suddenly got stuck. Her pack must have gotten caught on something. Nova slumped her shoulders and sighed deeply. She had been on her own for all of two minutes and already she had fallen on her ass and now she had gotten her pack stuck to the side of the house. She grabbed the shoulder straps and pushed herself forward, but it wouldn't budge. She turned her head to check on where it had gotten stuck, when she noticed that she hadn't gotten it stuck at all.

"Crap." she muttered when she saw Daryl casually leaning out the window, holding on to the handle on top of the backpack, keeping her from moving any further.

"Forget something at the store?" He asked as conversationally as a Dixon could muster. He'd remained standing at the window, staring outside after Nova had left, when he'd seen her backpack being thrown out the window and her landing on her ass next to it seconds later. He'd dashed into the other room and opened the window and when she had wanted to sneak by he'd grabbed onto the pack, pulling her back with just one arm. If the situation had been different he would have laughed when he saw the defeated slump of her shoulders and heard her deep sigh, but he was pissed. "Back in here. Now!"

He leaned out further, not letting go of the pack in case she decided to make a run for it, and held out his other hand. "Come on, ain't got all day."

Nova held on to his arm, he pulled and she helped along by climbing the wall and pulling herself up with her other hand. Thankfully it really wasn't very high at all and in no time she was back in the house, standing in front of Daryl who was squaring his shoulders and towering over her.

"What the fuck was that, huh?" he spoke quietly, but aggressively. He didn't want to alert the others to what had just transpired.

"Just thought I'd make it a little easier on everybody." Nova shrugged, shrinking back into herself a little bit when he stared at her angrily. She didn't know what was wrong with her. This wasn't her. She wasn't one to back down or give up or run easily. She usually had more backbone than that. Must have been temporary insanity or something. Or just the fact that everything had come together at one. Looked like she had a breaking point after all.

"Ain't making shit easier by running, Nova. Think anyone would have been happy ta find ya gone? How long ya think ya can survive on your own? Can barely make it in a group. You ain't ready to fight off walkers on your own." Daryl pushed the straps of her backpack off her shoulders and set it on the floor and motioned to the bed. "Sit down."

Nova plopped down on it and buried her face in her hands. "I got overwhelmed I guess. All this fucking shit's gotta stop. It's making me go crazy. I've never been like this. Just need some time to get my head back on straight. Too much confusing stuff is happening."

"Tell me about it." Daryl scoffed and crossed his arms while he leaned back against the window.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to call you somebody's property. You're not,... it's just a stupid saying or something like that. It was just that I knew that Carol liked you. And I don't like Carol too much, but I wouldn't have felt comfortable making a move on you and hurting her that way on purpose. And it would hurt me too much to stay with you, knowing that I could never,... you know,... be with you. That's what I meant by what I said the other night."

"But ya did make a move,... kinda..." Daryl stopped biting his lip long enough to get the words out. His anger dissipated when she finally explained herself in a way he was able to understand.

"Yeah, because you have some weird kind of power over me. You make me lose my focus and good intentions. It's unlike anything I have ever experienced and it's freaking me out."

"That why you're scared a me?"

"A little. I am usually able to play it pretty cool when I like someone. Not act like a dork, not being able to keep my hands to myself. But you and your stupid blue eyes are killing me." She admitted with rosy cheeks. Embarrassment. Great, another thing to add to the list of things Daryl evoked in her.

Daryl let out a little laugh and Nova looked up at him for a moment and shook her head, having to laugh a little herself. "Stop, it's not funny."

"Never liked ma eyes. Didn't think they had superpowers." Daryl's expression was serious, but his voice had a playful tone to it. He crossed the space between them and sat down next to her. When the warm skin of his bare arm softly brushed against hers in the process, it made her shiver and the little hairs on her arm stand up.

"I never liked blue eyes on a guy. But yours are really beautiful. You are a lot of firsts for me."

"Yeah? That a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Jury is still out on that one. But I think they are leaning towards good thing." She smiled and dared to look up at him. They looked each other in the eyes, forgetting their surroundings, both moving slightly towards the other before stopping and hesitating again.

"Shit, this is awkward." Daryl mumbled. His words made Nova laugh out loud and she pressed her forehead against his deltoid.

"Even more awkward now." She giggled when she sat back up straight. Both were red in the face, but they were at least able to laugh about it. Nova grabbed his hand and kissed the little star tattoo. Daryl watched her with a little smile and squeezed her hand.

"Don't try ta run again, ya hear me? We can get things sorted. I'd track ya and drag your pretty little ass back anyway, so all you'd be doing would be wastin' time."

"Won't happen again, trust me. It's time for me to find myself again and pronto. No more letting shit get to me like that." Nova promised determinedly. She kissed the heart on his wrist as well and smiled up at him. "You should grab a shower. Water is cold, but it works. Might be the last chance for a while again. Got shampoo and stuff in my pack."

"That your polite way of telling me that I stink?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"We all stink." she shrugged.

"So that's a yes?"

"Shut up and clean yourself. I'll go next."

"Yes, Ma'am." He smirked and gave her hand another squeeze before he got up to plunder her pack and get the shower gel and shampoo. Nova, meanwhile left to give him some space and privacy and joined the others who hadn't even noticed her escape attempt.

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Nova stepped under the cold spray about half an hour later. She yelped when the water first hit her, but after the initial shock it was kind of refreshing and she felt like it helped clearing her head. She quickly washed her hair and body and thoroughly brushed her teeth as well. If there was one thing she didn't need it was a goddamn toothache. That would be a hell all of its own without any dentists and narcotics around.

When she had dried herself off and was rubbing some of her last lotion into her skin, she got an idea. A painfully wide grin spread on her face and she had to bite her lip to get it back in check when she thought about Daryl's possible reaction. She only hoped it wasn't too forward, but he had wanted to see her tattoo again and now was a good a time as any. She put on her panties, socks and a pair of black sweatpants to sleep in and held her towel pressed to her chest.

"Daryl? Could you lend me a hand real quick?" She shouted into the hallway after poking her head out of the bathroom door. Daryl appeared out of the room he had previously occupied, with a frown on his face. Before he was able to ask questions she pulled him into the bathroom and shut the door and locked it.

"Uhm... what are you doing?" His eyes were wide, when he noticed that she was naked from the waist up with just a towel hiding her bare breasts from view.

"Killing two birds with one stone. You wanted to see my tattoo and I can't reach my back to put this stuff on it, soooo..." she trailed off, sure that he got what she was saying.

"So you want me to do it?" He swallowed hard, not having expected to have her in a room with him half-naked today.

"Only if you want to. I am not gonna force you. If you are uncomfortable you can leave, I am not holding you prisoner." She smiled gently, trying to ease the awkward tension a little.

"It's alright,... I can do it. Just surprised." He took the bottle from her and cleared his throat. "Turn around."

Nova turned her back on him, letting him see all of her tattoo. Daryl was impressed, it was even bigger than he'd thought. It even covered her spine in some places. He thought the placement of the cherry blossoms was a little too clustered in some spots, giving it a bit of a 'hectic' feel, but it still looked good. He'd always liked tattoos on girls.

"Ya smoked weed to get through that, didn't ya?" He smirked while he unscrewed the bottle of lotion.

"Nope, just took some extra strong ibuprofen. I am not into drugs, not even weed. My birth parents were druggies. Do not wanna end up like the-, ooohhh..." she bit her lip and her face turned a dark shade of red. That moan at the end had just slipped out without her being able to fight it, when he'd put his warm and strong, calloused hands on her back and it mortified her.

Daryl blushed a little, too, glad that she wasn't able to tell. He was nervous. It had literally been years since he'd put his hands on a woman in this fashion. It was like he was starting out a virgin all over again. He gently rubbed the lotion into the soft skin of her back and when he reached her shoulders, instinct just took over and his thumbs started massaging and pressing into the tense muscle tissue at both sides of her spine.

"Damn, woman. These are rock hard. Ain't they hurting ya?" He mumbled, his eyes firmly fixed on his hands on her skin.

"A little, but I'm sure you're shoulders aren't doing any better. With you carrying that crossbow all day and everything." Nova grunted and moaned with her forehead pressed against the cool tiles of the bathroom wall, clutching the towel tightly to her chest. What he was doing hurt a little, but every press of his thumbs relieved some tension and that felt awfully good. His hands felt awfully good in general, warm and strong, just the way she liked it. She enjoyed it for a little while longer before she slowly turned around and leaned back against the wall.

"Thank you, that was sweet of you." She smiled slightly and looked up at him with her big brown eyes. Daryl got lost in them a little and slowly took a step closer.

"Feel better?" his voice was low and gravelly and Nova was embarrassed once more when it made her shudder visibly. If Daryl noticed it, he wasn't letting it on, he was staring at her lips for a brief moment, before his gaze wandered lower over the curve of her neck and over her bare shoulders, down to where she was pressing the towel against her half naked form with one hand.

"Yeah, much better." She whispered and reached her other hand out, taking hold of his shirt and pulling him closer until the material of his shirt was brushing against the back of her other hand. He looked down at her, staring directly into her eyes, his hands slowly finding their way to her sides. His breathing picked up a little when he felt her bare skin of her waist against his palms. The air around them seemed to be charged with electricity, Nova felt like every little touch and movement of his was shocking her with little spikes of excitement. (Aaaaand a little lust, she had to admit to herself.)

Nova's breath hitched when Daryl lowered his head toward her. Their noses nuzzling each other again, like they had a couple of hours before, but this time they both knew there was no turning back. Nobody initiated. They moved in unison and their lips met, Daryl's breath leaving his body in a rush, while Nova's seemed to hitch even more. They broke their contact for a moment, to stare at each other wide-eyed and panting and just a second later they went back in for more, lips gently pressing, tasting and exploring each other.

Daryl's arms slid around her all the way. One hand sliding up in between her shoulder blades, to grip the back of her neck, pressing her tightly against him. Nova forgot all about holding on to her towel. Her hand reflexively buried itself into his hair, when he deepened the kiss and sucked on her bottom lip. They were pressed against each other so tightly, that it kept the towel pressed against her without having to use her hand.

Daryl groaned when her tongue found its way into his mouth and slid over his. He let her feel all his strength for a second when he squeezed her hard before reluctantly breaking the kiss.

"Gotta put more clothes on girl. It's too much kissin' ya like that, when yer wearin' next ta nothin'. Or else I'm gonna forget all about ma manners. 'S been too long, ya know?" He looked away shyly and Nova finally remembered her towel. She quickly pressed her hand back against it, before it fell to the floor, when he slowly released his hold on her.

"A gentleman, huh? That's nice." She smiled and went to give him another kiss, but he took a step back.

"Nah, none a that,... gonna give ya some space ta get dressed. See ya out there." Instead of a kiss she got a shy look from underneath his bangs to which she just smiled and winked. Daryl unlocked the door and slipped out. Nova turned towards the mirror over the sink and had to giggle when she noticed her huge grin and rosy cheeks.

"Whhoooo,..." she released a deep breath. "Great kisser." she said to her mirror image and touched her lips with a grin, before she finally dropped the towel and put on the rest of her clothes. She was so happy that she was whistling to herself. It had been a long time since that had happened.

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**Thank you for reading! **

**Just a little Nova/Daryl for today, but I hope it was satisfying:)**

**Thank you and special big Norman Reedus hugs to my hardcore, relentless reviewers DarylDixon'sLover, mamareadstomuch2 and xamss. People unfortunately seem to have a hard time warming up to this story, but you guys give me so much support and input that it motivates me to keep going. I love hearing from you. Thank you so much!**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN1: Please don't worry and trust me! Pretty please! I've included a sneak peek for the next chapter at the end, you might understand why at the end of this chapter:) Hang in there with me, it's all happening for a reason.**

Something happened to Daryl when he left that bathroom after kissing Nova. Reality hit him like a ton of bricks. He vanished into the room he had claimed as his for the night and closed the door, slumping against it when it clicked shut. He rubbed his face hard, feeling very tired all of a sudden.

'What the fuck am I doing?' the thought kept replaying over and over in his head. He had fucked up by letting her in. He wasn't thinking straight when she was around. He had let himself be drawn in by her instead of keeping a clear head and now he had to hurt her and hurt himself in the process.

He liked Nova. Kissing her had been fantastic, but he hated himself for doing it, because now he knew how great it feels instead of just imagining how nice it might be. He had liked the idea of being with her, making her his, being able to call her his woman. It had been a nice fantasy and just a couple of days ago he never would have dreamed about that fantasy actually turning real. Now it was real and it was fucking scary. He was running for the hills, figuratively. This couldn't happen. There was no way this was going to work out for real. He knew better, he'd seen people lose their loved ones over and over now. Beth had lost Zach just a couple of weeks ago. It was a miracle that Glenn and Maggie were still going strong. At least he hoped that they still were, he didn't know if they were even alive. But so far, those two had been the only ones in a relationship to make it this far. He didn't have it in him. Once they arrived on the farm they would have so much other things to worry about than their love lives. Nova might think that this would work out and be all romantic and shit, but she didn't know how things worked out here yet. She had been sheltered in the bunker, while Daryl and the group had fought for their survival. They would have to look for shelter, organize supplies and runs, work hard at keeping everybody safe. There was no time to fool around. There was no time to be distracted by constantly worrying about her. He'd been selfish by asking her to stay with them. It just wouldn't work. He'd never have time for her anyway and she'd be hurt by it. She'd had boyfriends, he was sure she was used to the whole nine yards. Daryl wasn't the kind of guy to make that happen. He wanted to, but there was no way to make it happen in this world. Too much responsibility was resting on his shoulders, he had more people to worry about than just her. He wouldn't be able to do right by her. He'd had something of an on-again, off-again relationship with a girl a couple of years back, more like friends with benefits, but never anything proper, so he wouldn't even know how to do it in the first place. He couldn't allow this to go any further or they'd both get hurt even more. Better put a stop to this now, while it was still more of a crush, before serious feelings started getting thrown into the mix.

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Nova walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and went to sit down next to Carol on the old couch in the living room. She took a sip of water from her bottle and looked around.

"Where's Daryl?" she asked with a frown when she noticed he wasn't around.

"Sounded like he locked himself in his room. He's in a foul mood today, better to just let him be. He'll be fine tomorrow." Carol smiled gently. She knew Daryl needed his space to work through things on his own when he was angry. They would just have to leave him alone to stew for the night.

"Alright." Nova said quietly, but her frown deepened. Why would he lock himself in his room? He said he'd see her out here and now he didn't want to see anybody? Had she missed something? Blacked out after the kiss for a moment and missed them having an argument? It was weird, but she wasn't the kind of person to go up to people and force them to talk to her and tell her what was wrong if they wanted their space. It bothered her that he wasn't coming out of his room, because she didn't know why, but she accepted it and went to sleep in her sleeping bag a little later.

The next morning she felt like she might have dreamed the whole kissing thing. Daryl was ignoring her. He wasn't even looking in her direction when they had some breakfast. He just told them to get packed and ready to go. When they left the house a couple of minutes later, he led the way, crossbow in hand, keeping his eyes firmly on his surroundings, looking out for walkers and checking out some cars. It only took a couple of blocks until he found one he was satisfied with. Nova had no clue what made this car different from all the others he had checked, but she had to trust that he knew what he was doing.

Daryl made Danny siphon some gas from other cars, while he got busy with some cables underneath the steering wheel. The girls put their stuff in the back of the black hatchback and kept a lookout for walkers. Well Beth and Carol kept a look out, Nova kept looking at Daryl's legs that were hanging out of the car. She just couldn't understand what the hell was going on with him and why he was ignoring her like that. Frankly, his behavior pissed her off, but she wouldn't bring it up with everybody else around, she was classier than that.

Danny came back later, having siphoned all the gas he was able to get and loaded the gas cans in the back as well and climbed into the passenger side when Daryl got the car started. The girls sat in the back, Nova behind Danny, Beth in the middle and Carol on the left behind Daryl, who was driving.

"So, how much longer?" Danny asked when Daryl drove them out of the little town.

"If nothing major happens, we should be on the farm by tonight." Daryl replied in a neutral tone of voice. Nova's heart sank a little. He was being damn near polite to Danny, but couldn't even look at her? She ground her teeth when anger came over her once more. So tonight they would be on the farm. And then what? Looked like that would be it. Sure didn't look like Daryl wanted her to stick around right now. She didn't even know if she wanted to stick around. It all started to make sense. Daryl seemed to be an asshole after all, so she actually hadn't strayed too far away from her regular type of guy she liked. Good to know that the end of the world hadn't changed her taste in men or her luck with them. It was oddly comforting in a way. It meant saying goodbye to Daryl wouldn't be too hard. She had practice in just forgetting the assholes in her life, she just had to flip a switch inside of her and they were gone.

"Nova, I know you don't want me to talk to you, but I just wanna know what you wanna do. The time has come to decide. We're gonna be at the farm soon and we should talk about the future. Also wanna apologize. I don't know what came over me yesterday." Danny cleared his throat and spoke carefully to her.

"It's alright,... shit happens. Don't do it again or I'll really never speak to you again."

"Promise. So, what do you wanna do?"

"Not sure." Nova sighed.

"You two should go back to the bunker. At least it's safe there. More and more herds forming out here. You saw it. We'll set ya up with a car and gas, so y'all can drive back." Daryl told Danny, making all three women in the back gape at him. Nova wasn't classy enough to keep from scoffing. She wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry.

"What? I don't know what crawled up his ass and died, what're you looking at me for?" Nova asked defensively when Carol and Beth looked at her, their gazes stunned and questioning at the same time. Nova turned her head away from them to look out the window and muttered quietly. "Sounds like the man made a choice."

Daryl felt like crap, but he had no choice. It had to be done. This was no fairytale where they would be living happily ever after. His fantasy had been like that, there had been no danger, no threats, no fucking walkers. This was reality and they would have way too much to lose if they'd get together. But man, he wanted her to stay. He REALLY wanted her to stay around, but it wouldn't be safe enough. He'd get distracted and she was just not much of a fighter. At least not yet. Her best option was the bunker. It was the only thing he could do for her, make her mad and get her to go back to her family, even though it killed him a little on the inside. He knew he was saying no to something good. Nova was full of potential chances and good things, but he thought that it just wasn't meant to be. It wasn't the time and place for romantic shit. He wasn't Glenn and he wasn't Rick. Hell, even Rick had barely been able to hold his marriage together and he and Lori had been married for years. If Rick fucked up, then Daryl would fuck it up times a thousand. He was sure of that and Nova didn't deserve that.

Nova was really angry, but most of all, she was confused. She had no idea what had happened. They had kissed and everything had been great and right after that he had checked out. Sure he had every right to do so if he had a change of heart, but it wasn't right to give her the silent treatment. He was a grown-ass man, if he didn't want this after all he should have the balls to tell her instead of acting like a 13-year old boy who'd been denied his X-box. She didn't understand why he would keep her from leaving, making her promise not to try to run away again, and then tell her to leave not even 24 hours later without so much as an explanation. All he had to do was tell her something like 'Okay, look, that kiss... I guess there was less spark than I thought there would be...' and she would understand, but this behavior she just did not get.

Late in the afternoon, when the sun already started setting, Beth started sobbing. Nova's head whipped around in surprise and her concerned gaze settled on the young woman's face.

"Beth, what's wrong, honey?"

"This is it..." she sobbed, her feelings overwhelming her when Daryl had turned the car onto the dirt-way that led to her childhood home. The first time she would be there, on her father's land, without her father being around anymore.

"There's the bus!" Daryl pointed towards the front. "Seems like some of us made it. Ain't that Tyreese?" he squinted when he saw a tall guy come out from behind the bus with a rifle. Daryl let the driver's side window down and leaned out. "Hey! Don't shoot. It's us!"

"Daryl? I'll be damned. Guys, it's Daryl." Nova heard a deep voice drift through the open window and she saw the man turn towards the house, shouting for more of their people.

"Maggie!" Beth was suddenly one ball of nervous energy and when Daryl stopped the car, Beth all but pushed Nova out of the car so she could get out herself. Nova saw the woman on the porch start to cry in earnest, as she raced towards them at the same lightning speed that Beth used to run towards her. They fell into each others arms and dropped to their knees, sobbing and hugging each other hard.

Danny got out and stood next to Nova, while Daryl and Carol were greeted by the guy named Tyreese. Carol was wary of the big man, but when he gently squeezed her shoulder she was sure that Rick hadn't gotten around to telling him about her killing his girlfriend.

"Who else made it?" Daryl asked immediately, letting his eyes wander towards the old farmhouse, trying to figure out who else was there.

"Pretty much everybody. Maggie and Sasha lost Bob on the way here. Got bit. Michonne hasn't shown up and some more from the Woodbury people got hit by bullets when the bus fled the prison and didn't make it." Tyreese replied.

"Rick?" Daryl hoped their leader had made it to the farm.

"He's inside. Arrived about a week ago. He's in bad shape. He's gonna make it, but the Governor really did a number on him."

"What happened to the Governor?"

"Rick said Michonne and her katana happened to him. Man, it's good to see you. We weren't sure how much longer we should wait here. Who's this?" Tyreese nodded his head toward the two strangers.

"That's Danny and Nova." Carol answered as Daryl chose not to. "Danny found me when I got hurt and they took me in. His father built this underground bunker years ago, that's where they've been staying for the whole time. Nova found Daryl and Beth and once we were all back in shape we came to find you guys."

"Imma find Rick." Daryl went towards the house and climbed the stairs to the porch and vanished through the door in a breeze.

"Let's get you introduced to everybody." Tyreese said, but Nova held up her hands.

"No that won't be necessary. We're not staying. We have somewhere else to go. Come on Danny. It's gonna be dark soon."

"You don't wanna stay the night?" Danny frowned.

"No, we might have another hour until it gets dark. Best start driving, the sooner we'll have you back home. You gotta decide what you want Carol. Stay or come?" Nova said and ushered him towards the driver's side.

"Nova, hold on. What's the hurry?" Carol walked towards Nova and pulled her away from Danny and Tyreese a bit. "What happened with you and Daryl?"

"Honestly Carol, you should ask him, because I don't have any idea. I know just as much as you do. Good thing I didn't get attached, he seems to be just like every other guy out there. I know you love him, but I'm sure you can do better. So, what's it gonna be, Carol. Stay here with him or come with us?"

Carol looked around at the people she considered to be her family. She wanted to take her chances facing Rick and everybody else. "I'll stay. Yeah, I will stay with them. I wanna try at least."

"Alright. Take care of yourself Carol. You know where the bunker is, if you ever get near there again, I am sure the guys will be happy to have you."

"What are you going to do?" Carol didn't like that Nova wanted to leave just like that and obviously wanted to stay on her own.

"I'll be fine. Been on my own while I traveled through Europe. I'm resourceful, I'll know what to do." Nova looked over at Maggie and Beth, but they were too busy with each other, too happy to have the other back, she didn't want to interrupt their moment. "Give Beth my love. Bye Carol."

Nova got in the car and watched Danny hug Carol hard and tell her goodbye before he got in himself.

"You sure?" Danny asked her when he started the engine with the help of the cables.

"Yep. Just go." Nova mumbled and didn't look back when Danny drove them off the farm into the sunset, glad that there hadn't been any big goodbyes. She hated goodbyes. It was a clean cut this way and she could start to forget that little episode that Daryl Dixon had been in her life.

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"Rick?" Daryl called out inside the house, not knowing where to look for the other man.

"Yeah." Rick stepped out of Hershel's former bedroom, but froze in his tracks, when he recognized Daryl. "Daryl? Oh man, thank God. You made it. It's good to see you."

The two men walked towards each other. Daryl held his hand out, but Rick ignored it and gave his right hand man a manly hug. Daryl felt a little smile tug at the corners of his mouth, but as usual, he hid it well when they pulled back from their little embrace.

"Ya look like shit, man." he said when he looked Rick over. "What happened?"

"Governor. Almost killed me. Michonne saved me. You seen her? Got anyone with you?"

"Beth and,... Carol." Daryl admitted hesitantly.

"Carol? How did that happen?" Rick's eyes widened in shock.

"Beth and I ran together. We couldn't find water, barely any food. We got cut off from the train tracks. We just ran in the wrong direction. Ended up near Lincolnton."

"Lincolnton? Are you kidding me? How did you manage to get there?"

"We just ran, man. Were exhausted. Collapsed in the middle of a fucking field. This girl, Nova, she found us. Took us back to her camp. It was sweet, man. This nutjob, her boss, built this bunker underground, protected by a concrete wall. Had a garden and a little field, everything they needed to survive. Carol was there. Took her in when on of their guys found her injured. Must have been right after you left her. Two of them came with us, Nova and Danny. They're outside with Carol and Beth. Good people. Y'all should meet." Daryl suddenly felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Most of his group was okay, they were reunited again. He had buried all hope up until now. Not knowing what would happen or what they would find had put more of a strain on him than he'd thought. He'd prepared for the worst. Now things seemed to be looking up again and just like that, he couldn't wait to go back out and see Nova. Take her to the side and apologize for being a jerk.

"I don't know what to do about Carol." Rick sighed and rubbed his face, wincing when he hit some still tender spots in the process.

"Maybe it's time to move on, Rick. I ain't saying what she did was right, far from it. I ain't forgiving her for it, not for a long time, maybe never, but we got other things to worry about now. We need to find somewhere new or secure this place, whatever, but what I'm saying is, we have stuff ta do and every hand on deck helps."

"Gotta think about that. Gotta talk to her. Come on, let's go outside." Rick slapped his hand on Daryl's shoulder and followed him out. Daryl was puzzled when he found the car gone and all their stuff on the ground next to Carol. She looked at him, her blue eyes questioning.

"What did you do, Daryl?"

"What ya mean? Went to find Rick. Where's Nova and Sasquatch?"

"That's what I mean Daryl. They already left. What happened? I thought you and Nova liked each other?"

"The fuck do ya mean they left already?" Daryl raised his voice, making Rick's eyebrow quirk up, clearly he was missing something here.

"They are gone, Daryl. You told them to go back and they did. She's gone now, Daryl. Nova is gone."

And just like that the tiny flame of hope that had started to flicker inside Daryl was stomped back out, almost brutally. And the worst thing was that he had no one else to blame for it but himself.

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**And in the next chapter... (yeah don't worry, this is a Daryl/OC story and it doesn't end here;-) )**

Chapter 16

_2 months later_

"Thank God, it took you guys forever to get back. Find anything useful?" Nova had kept her eyes peeled to the street, looking for Michonne and Danny, who had gone out to look for supplies and had wanted to stop by the park on their way back to see if any animals had gotten trapped in the snares.

Danny held up two rabbits and grinned. "We'll be eating like kings for the next two or three nights. Gotta make it last."

"Found some toilet paper, too." Michonne chucked a pack of it at Nova with a little smile.

"Not bad, that's worth more than gold these days." She laughed and barricaded the door behind them and walked towards the backyard of the house they had secured weeks ago and have been staying in since. "Okay, who's doing the honors with Thumper 1 and Thumper 2 here?"

"Always the one who asks." Danny laughed and nudged her with his elbow. "Michonne and I went out and did the dirty work of getting all this stuff. You go ahead and make something out of it."

"And don't ruin the meat!" Michonne threatened jokingly. "Too bad we don't have a redneck hunter to take care of that for us. Should have let him teach me better."

Nova's smile disappeared and she looked down at the rabbits in her hand with a wistful expression on her face. Danny shot Michonne a stern look for bringing up Daryl Dixon once again, to which Michonne rolled her eyes and mouthed "sorry" to him. Nova had usually been very good at forgetting the assholes in her life, but somehow Daryl Dixon was another story.

"Yeah." her voice was almost down to a whisper. "Too bad."

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**AN 2: Thank you for reading. I've included this to show you that this story doesn't end here and that the next chapter is already being worked on, so please don't worry and stick this out with me. I told you it would be a slower burn this time, but we'll get there, I promise:) So, 2 months will have passed and Danny is still with Nova and now they have Michonne with them. What do you think why Danny is still with Nova after all?:)**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Thanks and here is your cold shower, haha. We'll warm back up soon:) xoxo**

** xamss: I hope you aren't too disappointed. Nova left Daryl after all, but hey, he told her to right. Guess he didn't think she'd actually listen.**

** mamareadstomuch2: Some more waiting for you and your lady parts, sorry;-) Do you watch Orphan Black? If not you absolutely have to! Tatiana Maslany is who I picture as Nova. Especially her character Sarah Manning when she first shows up on Orphan Black. The grungy/punk version. Hope your doing well xoxo.**


	16. Chapter 16

_2 months later_

"Thank God, it took you guys forever to get back. Find anything useful?" Nova had kept her eyes peeled to the street, looking for Michonne and Danny, who had gone out to look for supplies and had wanted to stop by the park on their way back to see if any animals had gotten trapped in the snares.

Danny held up two rabbits and grinned. "We'll be eating like kings for the next two or three nights. Gotta make it last."

"Found some toilet paper, too." Michonne chucked a pack of it at Nova with a little smile.

"Not bad, that's worth more than gold these days." She laughed and barricaded the door behind them and walked towards the backyard of the house they had secured weeks ago and have been staying in since. "Okay, who's doing the honors with Thumper 1 and Thumper 2 here?"

"Always the one who asks." Danny laughed and nudged her with his elbow. "Michonne and I went out and did the dirty work of getting all this stuff. You go ahead and make something out of it."

"And don't ruin the meat!" Michonne threatened jokingly. "Too bad we don't have a redneck hunter to take care of that for us. Should have let him teach me better."

Nova's smile disappeared and she looked down at the rabbits in her hand with a wistful expression on her face. Danny shot Michonne a stern look for bringing up Daryl Dixon once again, to which Michonne rolled her eyes and mouthed "sorry" to him. Nova had usually been very good at forgetting the assholes in her life, but somehow Daryl Dixon was another story.

"Yeah." her voice was almost down to a whisper. "Too bad."

"Gimme,... I'll do it." Danny went to Nova's side and made a move to take the rabbits back from her, but Nova stepped back and shook her head.

"No, I'll do it. You're right. You went out there and got them in the first place while I just sat here and waited. I'll make dinner." Nova sent her two companions a little smile. It was fake, but she tried. Keeping her spirits up hadn't been easy these days. She went out into the backyard to skin the animals and once she was out of sight, Danny shook her head at Michonne.

"You gotta watch that. Can't bring him up all the time, babe. I don't know why she has such a hard time forgetting about him exactly, but until she does we should keep his name out of this house."

"I don't do it on purpose. He was a friend. We worked well together. He just pops up here and there." Michonne explained when she removed her katana from where it rested across her back and held it up to Danny's crotch with a little smirk. "And don't call me babe. Hate that."

"No you don't. You get that liiiiiittle smile on your face every time I do. You think I don't notice, but I do." He grinned boyishly at her, which she both hated and really liked at the same time. He was just so darn cute.

"Cocky bastard." She grunted with a laugh and turned around to put her weapon on the table.

"Oh babe, you have NO idea..." Danny winked at her and made a full-fledged smile appear on Michonne's face. Her eyes were dancing with laughter. That guy was just unbelieveable.

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Two days later Nova and Michonne got out of the house to go to the park and check the snares again. They didn't want to lose any food they may have caught to walkers. Those bastards should starve to their true death. Nova just loved Michonne. She would go as far as saying she had a little girl-crush on the woman and she was glad that Michonne had decided to stay with them after they had found her and patched her up almost two months ago.

"You still okay with our set-up?" Nova asked her companion while they walked the deserted street.

"Do you know that you ask me that almost every week?" Michonne smiled at her.

"Well yeah, but I just wanna make sure. I know you get antsy and feel the need to move. So do I, but I think right now we're doing good with what we have. Got the garden started, got the park right around the corner that gives us some meat... Not too many walkers around."

"And again,..." Michonne started with a laugh and Nova cut in, holding her hands up defeatedly.

"I know, I know, every week. I would just hate to see you go, girl."

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Michonne gently squeezed Nova's arm, lingering for a moment, enjoying the human connection. She had been wary of Nova and Danny at first. She had fought hard the first couple of days not to get attached to them after everything that had happened with Andrea and then the prison. But the two friends hadn't made that fight easy and after a week Michonne had given up. She had gotten very attached to Nova, they just clicked and had formed a deep bond very quickly. Nova had even saved her life a couple of times when they had been on the road and Michonne had still been injured. She owed the two for getting her out of the woods and out of Georgia. She never would have made it if it hadn't been for Nova and Danny.

They had been on their way back from the farm when Nova saw a woman clutch her side and stumble from one tree to the next, breathing heavy and leaning against it for support. Danny hadn't wanted to stop, he'd been sure that it was a walker, but Nova didn't think that walkers were breathing like that or clutching their injuries, so Danny had stopped and they had gotten out and checked on the woman. Someone had shot her and until this day Michonne didn't know who it was. They had just loaded her in the car real quick and hauled ass out of there. They had told her that they had just dropped some people off at a farm and realization had spread through Michonne and she had asked for names. When Nova told her that it had been Carol, Beth and Daryl, Michonne had admitted that she belonged to that group. Danny had offered to turn around and take her to the farm, but Michonne had declined. She had been next to Hershel when he died, unable to help him. She felt responsible. The Governor had wanted her, not Hershel, he'd gotten caught in the crossfire. It was her fault that he was dead and she wouldn't show her face on the man's land. So she had stayed with Danny and Nova, finding a best friend in her and a very flirtatious potential partner in Danny, even though she would never admit out loud that she REALLY liked him. Just like Nova seemed to like Daryl, which reminded her of something she wanted to talk about.

"Dixon's gotta be a better kisser than I thought if you're still hung up on him after all this time. Thought you were doing better?" Michonne had never been known for tact, but neither had Nova and contrary to what Danny believed, she wasn't offended or upset when Michonne asked her about Daryl.

"He is a great kisser. It was just one kiss, but damn, he is a wild one. It was like I was able to feel how hard he had to fight to keep himself from unleashing it. Pulled away so fast... but that was probably because he wasn't into it as much as I would like to think he was." Nova still got goosebumps when she thought back to that moment in the bathroom when they had kissed for the first time. The first and only time.

"I think that's where you are wrong. I know you believe otherwise now, but Daryl is a good man. He really is. And he is honest. Brutally honest. He must have had a good reason for doing what he did." Michonne was convinced that Daryl hadn't tried to fuck her over. She had a high opinion of him and she knew that there were at least two sides to every story. She had heard Nova's and she was able to understand the woman's anger and frustration, but she wouldn't condemn Daryl until she heard his side of the story as well. And since that would never happen, she would never say a bad word about him or support Nova when she said that Daryl was a heartless jerk.

"Like what? It doesn't make any sense at all. One minute he kissed me and then all of a sudden the silent treatment. Out of fucking nowhere. Nah, no reason there. He was just being an asshole. Even if he did have a good reason like you keep saying, then he just could have told me."

"That's not how Dixon works. Trust me. I'm surprised he even kissed you. The guy gets embarrassed as hell when you pay him a compliment. I don't think he is much of a ladies' man. Maybe he just didn't know how to handle it."

"Yeah right. He's fucking 40 years old. He knows how to handle it." Nova grunted frustratedly, the whole thing with Daryl still gave her a headache because she just couldn't figure out what had gone wrong after that kiss.

"Wrong again." Michonne sing-sang behind her when Nova started stomping her feet into the ground a little faster. She wouldn't go as far as saying that she knew how Daryl Dixon ticked, but she did know him longer and better than Nova did and she knew Daryl wasn't the most comfortable when he was around the ladies who were being flirty with him. When Nova had opened up and told her that he had actually kissed her, Michonne knew right away that Daryl had to really like the girl. All the more reason for her to think that Daryl probably just got overwhelmed and made a mistake by telling her to leave. She was sure the redneck had regretted telling her that by now.

"Oh shut up if you don't have my back!" Nova grumbled, but Michonne knew that it was in jest and just chuckled.

"Alright, Kissy Girl, I'll check by the golf course and you'll check the snares by the waterfall. Holler if you need help."

The women parted ways and went to check their respective areas where they had set up some snares. They were thinking about digging some pits out there as well for walkers to get trapped in, but so far they hadn't gotten to it yet. It wasn't their biggest priority as they have never encountered too many walkers in the park. It was like a little slice of heaven and seemed almost untouched. Nova had to remind herself very often that she still had to be alert when she was there. All she wanted to do was just hike around and enjoy those moments when it seemed like everything was still completely normal.

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Daryl felt better than he had in weeks when he stepped out of the water and shook himself like a dog to get the excess water out of his long hair. He had to admit, albeit begrudgingly, that it was indeed getting a little too long now. Maybe he should take Beth up on her offer to cut it just a little bit, to get it out of his eyes. He just didn't trust anyone to not fuck it up. Yes, Daryl Dixon was a little freak when it came to his hair. He had always liked wearing it kind of long and shaggy, much to Merle's dismay. His older brother had always given him crap about it, so one time, shortly before the outbreak, he'd taken Daryl out to a bar, getting his brother so drunk he was barely able to stand up anymore. Later, back in their trailer when Daryl was out cold, Merle had taken a pair of scissors to Daryl's hair and just chopped it off. Daryl had freaked out after looking in the mirror the next day and had to cut some leftover strands away himself to make it look half decent. Merle had just laughed and told him he should be glad that he didn't shave his head and made him bald. Deep down Daryl had been thankful for that.

Daryl wasn't quite sure what it was, but something caught his attention and tore him out of his memories. He looked around and strained to hear something over the noise of the little waterfall. Something was moving up there by the gazebo, but he couldn't see right due to all the trees and bushes. He threw his clean clothes on and quickly put on and tied his boots, then he grabbed his crossbow and silently made his way up to the trail that led past the gazebo and into the woods. He watched his steps carefully, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to him and in turn to the others that were camping out down the trail that led in the opposite direction towards a camp site.

The hunter stealthily moved through the thicket, his crossbow aimed and ready to fire. He was sure he was following a living person, the steps they were taking weren't the dragging, shuffling steps of a walker and a living person could mean even more trouble than the undead. It got quiet and Daryl waited until he heard rustling of leafs a little further ahead behind a bush. He moved closer and took a peek at the person he had followed here. He froze, an unfamiliar feeling settling deep within his stomach. He felt like he knew that person. But surely it couldn't be... He looked closer at the woman's hair. Dark brown with strands of platinum blonde peeking out in some places. Just like hers. But they had seen what had happened to the bunker, if she had stayed there,... he had been sure she was dead. Maybe this was just wishful thinking. But then the woman in front of him brushed her hair over her left shoulder when she crouched down to free an animal out of the trap, baring her right shoulder that was just covered by a thin white tank top. He saw the black lines and part of a red cherry blossom peek out from under it and he lowered his crossbow.

"Nova."

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She froze, her hand gripping the fur of the rabbit she was trying to free in a deathgrip. She'd know that voice anywhere. It had been branded into every fiber of her being and she knew she would never be able to forget it. She just couldn't believe it. How in the world was this possible? They were in Burlington, North Carolina for fuck's sake, how in the world would they cross paths here? In this fucking park? She shook herself mentally, thinking maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. Only one way to find out, so she turned around.

There he was, in all his fucking lean and mean glory. No mind-fuckery there. Daryl Dixon had somehow found his way to Burlington and into Cedarock Park. A mix of conflicting emotions were coursing through her when she saw him. Anger, confusion, happiness, longing and even more anger when her traitorous stomach did that clench and flutter thing it used to do 2 months ago when they had been sitting around those campfires. Her eyes involuntarily flicked down to his lips, oh those wonderful soft lips, how much she wanted to kiss them again and then bite them hard for getting her hooked and then make her go through withdrawals. She forced herself to look back up into his eyes. His stupid, gorgeous blue eyes. He looked just as surprised as she felt. Stunned even.

"Daryl." she had wanted it to come out stern and curt, but instead all she managed was a whisper.

Daryl was at a loss. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but nothing came out. He wanted to touch her, make sure she was real and okay, he wanted to ask her if she was okay, how she had been doing, how she had ended up here, if she knew what had happened to her former home, if she had maybe been there when it had happened. He wanted to apologize and explain his behavior, tell her that he'd been thinking about her, especially in the past weeks after they had discovered the bunker had been compromised, tell her that he'd fucking missed her. But none of that came out.

"Ya left..." was all he managed. "Why?"

Nova put her hand on her hips and sneered. "You are kidding right? You told us to leave, Daryl. What did you think we were gonna do? Beg you to change your mind?"

"Coulda said goodbye at least, coulda given me a chance ta explain."

"Why? You were pretty clear you no longer wanted us around. Why should I have even tried to say goodbye. You didn't look at me or talk to me for a whole day and I am not a masochist. Didn't feel like torturing myself by waiting around to see if you would change your mind. Not my style. You wanted us gone, so we left. There was no need for us to stay around any longer. You had enough time to explain, but you chose to ignore me."

"I didn't handle things right, I know that. I came out to apologize, but you were already gone."

"Guess you have bad timing, then. What're you doing here anyway? You alone?" Nova looked behind him to see if anybody else was around.

"Nah, whole group is here. Carol, Beth, Rick, couple a others. We're headed towards Washington, came into town last night, found this park, thought it would be good to stay a couple a nights with all the gazebos and stuff and them woods around. Good for huntin'. On our way outta Georgia, we came by the bunker... thought we could stay a night or two..." Daryl trailed off when he saw her pained expression. She obviously knew that her former home had fallen.

"Yeah, guess you saw what happened, huh?" Nova hung her head, hiding the tears that were threatening to spill out.

"Thought ya were dead." Daryl told her softly. "What happened?"

"I don't know Daryl. It was like that when Danny and I got back there. Something terrible must have happened, but I don't know what. I don't know if my brothers are still alive or if they got killed. There were so many walkers, so much blood on that wall. Maybe it was a herd, but I have no idea how they got in, the gate was intact,... just open. We just turned around and drove away. Had to ditch the car soon after. Fought our way out of Georgia and kept moving, settled down in a house close to here a couple of weeks ago."

Daryl's lips pressed together in a hard line and he fought hard not to scoff. "So Sasquatch is still with ya? Thought ya wanted ta get rid of him?"

"Things changed. He's changed. He is doing much better. Found someone to take his mind off of me." Despite herself Nova had to grin and seeing her like that made Daryl's stomach clench hard. Fuck he'd missed being around her. He'd been such an idiot.

"So ya got someone else with y'all?" he asked when Nova picked up the forgotten rabbit and reset the snare.

"Yep, we do." Nova turned back to him and smiled when she looked over his shoulder. "And I guess you're in for another surprise."

Daryl turned around and damn near gasped in shock. "Michonne? Holy fuck, I knew you made it."

"Well I'll be damned. What brings you to this neck of the woods, Dixon? You following me or somethin'?" Michonne couldn't help but smile at the hunter, happy to see a familiar face.

"Woulda found you a hell of a lot earlier if I had tracked ya. How on earth did y'all end up together?" He looked back and forth between Nova and Michonne.

"We found her the day we dropped you off at the farm. She got shot. Took her with us, patched her up and we all stayed together since." Nova explained. "We should get back."

"Wait, that's it? You leavin' again?" Daryl shouted at Nova's back, as she had already walked past him towards Michonne. She stopped and turned around, fixing him with a hard stare.

"You made your choice, Daryl. Just remember what I said. I'm not a masochist." Nova turned back around, only to find Michonne standing right in front of her with crossed arms.

"This has been torturing you for 2 months." She spoke quietly. "Maybe you two should talk. Hear him out. Get some answers. You can still turn your back on him after that."

Michonne was talking quietly, but Daryl still heard what she said. Nova had obviously told Michonne about what had happened. It was good to know she still kind of had his back. He gave her a grateful nod when she looked at him before he turned his attention back to Nova, who was turning to look at him now. She studied him for a moment, Daryl hoped he would get a chance to explain, but his heart sank, when he saw Nova's gaze turn determined and hard and she shook her head.

"He told me enough by not saying anything at all back then. Nothing he has to say now is of any interest to me." Nova murmured and turned back and started walking. Michonne watched her go, then she turned back to Daryl.

"Where are you staying?"

"Camp site here in the park. There's a gravel horseshoe drive and restrooms nearby. Know where that is?" He explained their location as best as he could.

"Yes, I know where that is. We'll be back later. I promise. Is it just you?"

"No, pretty much everybody."

Michonne swallowed hard, she knew the time had come to face the group and the late Hershel's daughters. "Alright. Don't worry, she'll be back. She's just hurt, but she wants those answers, I know it and you better give them to her before you move on or I'll kick your ass. You know I can take you."

"Pfffff." Daryl made a face and Michonne just smiled and winked before she left him there and hurried to catch up to Nova.

"How are you doing?" She asked Nova once she was walking next to her again.

"I have no idea. I am shocked. I never thought I'd see him again. This just really threw me for a loop."

"I meant what I said. You should give him the chance to explain himself. You can get closure here. You should take that chance." Michonne had never seen Daryl look at someone like he'd looked at Nova. She couldn't describe it, but his eyes had seemed softer, almost imploring her to listen to him, to keep talking to him a little longer and not to leave again. She had seen the brief flicker of hurt flash up in his eyes when Nova had shot him down and she knew that this whole thing that had upset Nova so much had to be some kind of misunderstanding or just lack of communicating. Daryl wasn't much of a talker or very open with his feelings and Nova was not yet fully aware of that.

"I don't know. Do I really want to get into that? What if he ends up hurting me even more?" Nova wasn't sure if she should talk to Daryl. He still had the exact same effect on her, time and distance had changed nothing. She didn't want to give in too easily and she was sure it was going to happen if she got too close to him.

"I don't think he will. You should go back there right now. Here, I got another rabbit. Take yours back to him to share with the group and talk to him. They'll be moving on soon, I'm sure, so time is not your friend here. Stop pouting and hear him out. I'll go and tell Danny and give him this to skin and then I'll come right back, okay?"

"Fine." Nova sighed deeply. She knew Michonne was right. She hadn't been able to let go, maybe because she needed this closure and now she would be able to get it. It would be stupid not to go and talk to him, but at the same time she just didn't want to. She didn't want that flutter in her stomach, she wanted to be mad at him and not long for him to kiss her again. She hated her feelings for betraying her like that. She had no idea what he had done to her to make her grow so attached to him in that short time they had spent together. He must be the devil or something.

She stomped back the way she just came from and it didn't take longer than a couple of minutes until she spotted him. He stopped walking when he saw her coming closer again and waited, his expression guarded. Once she was close enough, Nova tossed the dead rabbit at him, which Daryl caught easily with one hand when the animal hit him in the chest.

"Here!" Nova had stomped her feet into the ground so hard that she was out of breath now. She stemmed her hands against her hips and looked him square in the eyes. "And now tell me what the fuck happened back there!"

Daryl nodded shyly. He hated talking about this stuff, but he knew he owed her and he actually did want to explain himself, it just wasn't easy for him. "Gotta get back to the group first, before they send out a search party. C'mon." Daryl instinctively reached out to touch her elbow, but Nova quickly moved away from him. She knew her resolve around him would melt away if she let him touch her.

"Gave up on safety or did ya lose your leather jacket?" he tried to make some light conversation with her to get her warmed up a little.

"Guess I gave up. Won't help if I get a heatstroke." Nova shrugged.

"'M glad yer here." Daryl mumbled, looking at the ground and Nova felt her heart constrict in her chest.

"Guess that's an improvement. You weren't glad to have me around the last time."

"Ain't true. I made out with ya, didn't I? That's usually a sign that someone's glad you're around."

"Oh really?" Nova snorted derisively. "That why you ignored me afterward? Because you were so happy to be around me? Wow, then you sending us away really makes a lot of sense now."

"Stop. Just... I'm no good at explainin' things. I'll try the best I can, but yer gotta hear me out and let me finish."

"Fair enough." Nova sighed and walked the rest of the way with him in silence. They came closer to the area where they were camped out and she already felt curious looks coming their way. She recognized Beth and Carol and saw the surprise on their faces.

"Oh my God! Nova?" Beth had a huge smile on her face and jogged towards them, giving Nova a hug. "You're alive, I'm so glad. We thought you were dead."

"Yeah I heard, but whatever happened, already happened when we were still on our way back, I guess. It's good to see you Beth. How have you been holding up?"

"Okay. I was sad you just left."

"I'm sorry. I should have said goodbye."

"Yes, but it's okay. I understood why you left." Beth said and shot a surprisingly mean glare towards Daryl, who had the decency to look at the ground and shuffle his feet uncomfortably.

"Nova, thank goodness you're okay." Nova was surprised when Carol enveloped her in a warm hug and smiled at her.

"Hi Carol. You're still with them I see. So things worked out?"

"It's still a work in progress, but so far we are doing okay. I never thought I'd see you again, much less here in North Carolina." Carol was stunned, sad and happy at the same time. She knew Daryl had been stupid enough to pass up his first chance, but she also knew that he wasn't fool enough to pass up a second chance. Unbeknownst to Nova, Daryl hadn't fared much better without her. He had regretted his actions deeply. Not the kiss, but everything else and he had been a bit of a mopey bastard when he had too much time to think. Carol and Beth noticed when he got lost in his thoughts sometimes, after spending so much time with him, they knew the signs. He hid it well though, so everybody else was none the wiser, because Beth and Carol hadn't told a soul about Daryl's crush, knowing he would just get mad at them and they didn't want anyone to mock him and hurt him even more. He had hurt himself enough emotionally by his own actions.

"Well, we just got on the road without a real destination in mind. Ended up here, decided to stay, worked out well so far." Nova didn't feel like explaining the whole trip in detail.

"We? Danny still with you?" Carol guessed and Nova nodded, eyeing the people that were coming closer and looking at her curiously.

"Yeah. Just happened that way. He is doing good. No more outbursts or anything. Michonne's got a good handle on him." Nova smiled and watched everybody's expressions change to surprise.

"Michonne is with you? She's alive?" A tall, lean man with dark curly hair took a step closer, his blue eyes wide.

"Yeah. Was injured when we found her, but she's good. She'll be back here later. To see you guys I guess."

"That's Rick, by the way." Daryl informed Nova, who smiled and stuck out her hand towards Rick.

"Ah yeah, the leader, right? Novalee Harris, nice to meet you, Sir."

"The famous Nova? Heard a lot about you from those three. They thought you had died back in that bunker. It's too bad, it looked like a good set-up." Rick told her after shaking her hand. His expression was sympathetic. Daryl had told her what she had done in order to protect Beth. He didn't even know why he had told. Rick had asked about the people he and Beth had stayed with and Daryl had mostly told him about Nova.

"It was, but nothing lasts forever, right?"

"Unfortunately. Where are you staying?" Rick wanted to know more. If she had better shelter than they had at the park, maybe it could be shared.

"We are in a house just around the corner from here. It's not as big as your prison, I reckon, but if you are okay with sleeping on the floor, I guess you can stay for a little bit. At least you'd have a roof over your head." Nova offered, knowing Michonne would too. If Danny had any objections, well tough luck, the two woman would just overrule him.

"That's very generous of you. Are you sure it's okay with the others?"

"You can ask Michonne when she comes back. I am sure she will offer as well. Don't worry about our guy. Danny doesn't get a vote, although I don't think he would object in the first place."

"Wouldn't be so sure." Daryl scoffed to which Nova rolled her eyes.

"You'd be surprised. People change Daryl. Danny just had some demons to deal with. You know why."

He figured that was true, so he piped back down. Making Nova mad wouldn't help his case at all. He was getting antsy with all these people around now. He wanted to get her alone and put this thing behind them. Nova seemed to have the same thing on her mind. She turned back to Rick and smiled politely.

"Michonne should be here shortly. You can talk to her then. Daryl and I have some things to talk about now, so if you'd excuse us?"

Rick looked at her surprised, wondering what she and Daryl would have to talk about. Before he could say anything he saw Beth nod eagerly and Carol giving Daryl an encouraging smile and figured that something must have happened between the girl and the hunter.

"C'mon." Daryl jerked his head to the side indicating for her to follow him. He led the way to a picnic table that was far enough away from the tents to be out of earshot. Nova climed on the bench to sit on the table with her back to the group and Daryl followed suit.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I fucked up." Daryl started and then paused, not sure how to go on.

"What happened Daryl? We kissed and everything was okay. You said you'd see me outside and then you never looked at me or talked to me again. I just don't understand what the hell happened after that kiss."

"Got scared."

"You got scared? You're a grown man, Daryl, why didn't you just talk to me?"

"Dunno. Thought I was protecting ya this way. Both of us. Thought I'd fuck it up anyway, so I wanted to spare us some pain. Dunno how to explain it right. I was stressed out. Didn't know what would wait for us at the farm. I don't know how that shit works, but it made me think that we'd just go down if we'd get into it. Got more to lose when ya care 'bout people. Guess my mind just made up thousands of things to tell myself why it wouldn't be good for us ta get more involved, ya know? The minute I kinda 'had ya', I got scared of losin' ya again."

"So you pushed me away because losing me on your terms would be easier than losing me to something else?" Nova asked him and Daryl was happy that she understood what he was trying to say. He wished he would be able to sum things up like she just had instead of beating around the bush and having a hard time finding the right words.

"Yeah. 'xactly. Just wanted ya ta be safe, too. I knew we'd be out on the road soon again. You weren't made for fighting walkers. You was always nervous around them."

"Because I had very little experience in dealing with them. It's a learning curve, you just didn't give me a chance or enough time. I got better. Michonne also taught me a great deal, but before we venture off topic here,... that's all? You got scared and thought not getting any closer would be best for both of us? Make us somehow safer?"

"Yeah, that's it." Daryl nodded and carefully peeked at her through his bangs, trying to read her expression.

"That's bullshit. God Daryl, why didn't you just tell me? You were the one that said I shouldn't run, that we would be able to sort things out and then you turn around and run away yourself?"

"Was overwhelmed. Don't know that feelin' too well and freaked."

"Jesus Christ, Daryl. You do that to all the girls you've been with?" Nova rubbed her hands through her face as if she would be able to clear her head this way.

Daryl blushed and shrugged. "Ain't got much girlfriend experience. 's why I'm no good at this."

"But you did have girlfriends, right? You kiss way too good to not have any experience at all." Nova wasn't quite sure what he was implying with his previous statement.

Daryl blushed even harder at that compliment and fiddled with the frayed edges of a rip in his pants. "Ain't a virgin if that's what you're askin'. Had girlfriends, just not real ones."

"Not real ones? What does that mean? You mean you had blow-up dolls or what?"

"Hey, I ain't fucking no dolls! Not that desperate. Just,... dunno. Had girlfriends that didn't mean much, ya know. Was more like good friends."

"Oh, you mean friends with benefits? No feelings, just sex and good friendship outside of the bedroom? You mean that?"

"Yeah, sounds about right. Ain't never done this talking stuff. Not much anyway. It's why I'm shitty at it. I knew I'd done fucked up after we arrived on the farm. Came out ta talk ta you and apologize, but y'all were already gone."

"Yeah, like I said. You made it perfectly clear what you wanted. I didn't understand why, but I don't make a habit of staying where I'm not wanted." Nova shrugged. Talking to him and clearing the air felt good, but she still had no idea where they stood or what would happen now.

"Gotta question for ya, too, now that I think about it." Daryl was finally fully looking at her, although she wished he wasn't. Those eyes were just killing her.

"What?"

"Why didn't ya talk ta me? You were pretty eager ta leave that farm. Didn't even say goodbye ta Beth. Ya didn't ask why I wasn't talking to ya. Didn't expect ya ta just take it."

"Well for one, Carol told me to just leave you alone, that you'd come out whenever you were ready, so I did that and after that you said we should go back to the bunker and to me that meant you were done with me. I didn't know why and I did want to know why, but I didn't want to bring it up in front of the others."

"Why didn't ya wait til ya caught me alone on the farm then?" Daryl asked and Nova didn't have an answer straight away.

"Guess you got me there. I really don't know. Overreacted maybe? Got my ego and my pride hurt and didn't want to give you the chance to do even more damage? Didn't want to seem too pathetic by sticking around, hoping you'd start talking to me again? Probably a little bit of everything." Nova had to laugh at herself a little. She had been mad at Daryl for acting like a child, but she had done the same without realizing it.

Daryl had relaxed a little by now and he smirked when he saw her laugh. He'd missed that sound and he'd missed turning around and seeing her next to him.

"I think we both fucked up. Me a little and you big time." she laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. Daryl shook his head with a laugh.

"Sounds right. So,... what now?" he asked her and Nova sobered up and got quiet again.

It was a good question and there was no definite answer. Could they start fresh? Only if Daryl decided to stay or if she decided to go with them, but she didn't know if she was willing to give up what she had.

"Depends. What do you want?"

"'Nother chance,... if you're up for it." He was biting his lip while he looked at her and Nova wanted to scream. How in the world was she supposed to think straight when he did that? Did he really not know the effect he had on her and how sexy and adorable it was when he did that?

Nova reached over and gently put her thumb underneath his bottom lip and pulled a little, getting him to release his lip from the grasp of his teeth. "Stop that, it's distracting."

"How so?" he frowned.

"Because it makes me want to kiss you again and there's things I have to think about before I can give you an answer." she still hadn't removed her hand from his face and kept stroking her thumb over his scruff. He was putting his spell on her again and pulling her in and the only thing that kept her from giving in and kissing him right then and there was a young boy calling out for Michonne. Nova turned towards the tents and saw the boy almost tackle her friend to the ground.

"Come on." She patted Daryl's knee and got up, glad that someone had pulled her out of her daze. "Let's find out if we're gonna have a sleep-over tonight."

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**AN: Thank you for reading! Man, I was speed-writing in order to get this out today for you guys. Okay, did it for myself too, needed to get it out of my head.**

**Hope you enjoyed and that all your questions have been answered!**

**Major thanks and hugs to: DarylDixon'sLover, MonkeysGoBoo, mandymayhem1123, xamss and mamareadstomuch2 (WATCH ORPHAN BLACK! LOL! xoxo) Out of time so I had to do this quick today, sorry. Love all y'all.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Michonne was surprised by the warm welcome she got from everybody. Carl, Rick, Sasha, and especially Beth and Maggie, they all gave her big hugs and expressed their joy at seeing her again and in one piece. She had to fight hard to keep tears from falling. All this time she had thought that they would blame her for Hershel's death, but nobody brought it up and Michonne was smart enough not to open up old wounds. Of course she offered Rick to come back with her and Nova. She had already told Danny about the group and that they would invite them into the house. Danny wasn't the happiest camper on earth when he heard about Daryl being back in his life, he never really warmed up to the guy and he knew that something had happened between Nova and Daryl and he still didn't like it, but he knew it would be safer for everybody inside the house. Michonne and Rick talked for a while, then Rick told everybody to pack their stuff.

The group had thinned out considerably since their prison days. A lot of the Woodbury people had died during the flu outbreak and when they had fled the prison. Others decided not to follow Rick and his core group to Washington, so they didn't have too many people to worry about right now. It worked in their favor right now, because Michonne knew that they never would have been able to fit everybody into the house and get them fed if there had been any more people, it would be enough of a tight fit already. They walked back to the house, killing some stray walkers effortlessly on their way. Danny opened the little gate they had installed to close the opening in the white picket fence, which had also been reinforced by Danny, while Michonne and Nova had taken care of walkers that had gotten attracted by the noise. Everybody rushed inside and when everybody was inside the house Danny closed and locked everything back up and looked the group members over.

His gaze turned frosty, when it met Daryl's, but they remained civil and exchanged short nods. Rick and Tyreese gazed up at Danny warily. The guy was bigger than a freaking closet, even Tyreese had to look up to meet Danny's gaze. Danny smiled and hugged both Beth and Carol and then introductions with the rest of the group were made.

"How tall are you?" Carl asked him, a little envious of Danny's tall build.

"6'5",... now with boots on probably 6`6". How old are you?"

"13." Carl answered, even though he wasn't quite sure. They hadn't kept a calendar.

"I wasn't even as tall as you when I was 13. Don't worry, you might get a huge spurt soon." He winked and got a smile from Carl. "That pretty lady's gotta be Judith, right?"

"Yes, my daughter. Almost a year now." Rick smiled affectionately at the little girl that was pulling herself up by grabbing the leg of her brother.

"She's beautiful." Danny crouched down, but didn't make a move to touch her, just smiled at her and let her look at him curiously. She would come to him when she was ready, he wouldn't force her. Danny had a huge soft spot for kids. He used to be a frequent babysitter and worked in a daycare for two years. A fact that had made him very popular with the ladies. A tall, cute guy, cuddling and playing with little kids had made some panties drop hard. That hadn't been not reason why he'd done it, though. He had loved working with them. He wanted to be a pediatrician, but unfortunately he hadn't been good enough at school.

"Alright, I'd say we get some lunch started, how about it?" Danny rubbed his palms together and looked at the women.

"I'll skin that other rabbit real quick. Where can I go?" Daryl looked at Nova questioningly.

"Backyard, come on, I'll show you. Michonne, why don't you and Rick work on the sleeping arrangements?" Nova led Daryl outside to their backyard with the little garden.

"Planning on staying a while, huh?" Daryl asked when he noticed the plants.

"Yeah, it's good for now. Gotta enjoy it as long as it lasts. We got some seeds from the bunker. Almost died for them, but it was worth it. Now we will always have some for when we have to move somewhere else."

"You went inside the bunker? That place was crawling with walkers." Daryl looked at her with wide eyes.

"We had to check if our brothers were still in there, Daryl. You would have done the same. And in that moment I really didn't care anymore if I'd get scratched or torn apart. All I did those two years was in vain. Josh died anyway." Nova's voice sounded empty and hollow when she said it.

"They could have made it out. Could still be out there." Daryl tried to give her some hope, although he knew it was futile.

"Maybe. But I don't want to get my hopes up. One way or another, I don't think I'll ever see them again."

"Nova?" Before Daryl could say something else, Michonne called for her and Nova excused herself and went inside.

Carol helped with making lunch and Nova was grateful for that. Carol was a far better cook than she would ever be. This way the group would get a decent meal instead of some bland crap Nova usually throws together. They had some stuff they could use to make it more tasty, but neither of them had ever been very good at cooking, so it didn't really taste all that good. The only think Nova was decent at, was tomato soup with onions and garlic, but even then she often burned the onions and the garlic before she added the tomatoes.

After lunch they sat around in the living room and Rick talked about his plans of going to Washington. He had heard of some kind of sanctuary and that's where they were headed and he invited Michonne, Danny and Nova to come with them, if they wanted. The three looked at each other, but didn't give an answer. It was something they would have to discuss. Michonne offered Rick to stay as long as they wanted in the meantime, which Rick graciously accepted. A couple of days of downtime would be good for them. Especially for the kids.

Nova soon excused herself to go to her room. She used to be a big "people person", but they had been on their own for so long, that now she found herself a little overwhelmed with all the new people in the house. She took off her boots and put her gun and her knife on the nightstand and plopped down on the bed, just closing her eyes and relaxing a little. She didn't stay alone for long though. She heard the stairs creak and silent footsteps come closer. They stopped at every room they passed, probably to look inside. She guessed that it was Daryl who was looking for her.

"Hey." she heard the voice she had missed so much seconds later.

"Hey." She replied and leaned up on her elbows to look at him. "What can I help you with?"

Daryl didn't even know himself. He had just followed her without a plan in mind. He was just drawn to her and now that he found her again, he didn't feel like letting her out of his sight much. "Nothing. Just looking around."

"Looking for a place to sleep?" She smirked, enjoying the embarrassment that his expression displayed.

"Nah. Got a place already. Why? You offerin'?" He was only half-joking if he was being completely honest with himself. He was craving some time alone with her, like they used to have at the camp fires. Like earlier, when she had almost kissed him again.

"In your dreams, Dixon. I'm not sharing. At least not with you." She giggled and laid back down on her back all the way.

"Fair enough." Daryl grumbled, a little disappointed.

"So you wanna come over here and take a seat or just gonna stand there and shuffle your feet awkwardly." Nova mumbled and Daryl was glad that she had her eyes closed so she wasn't able to see that he was blushing even harder. She obviously knew why he was there and that he wasn't just looking around. He walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"You're different." He stated after he had studied her in silence for a little while.

"Am I? You don't know me that well, Daryl. I told you, that insecure, crying person back then, that wasn't me. I don't let things get to me that easily, it was just stress. Thank God all that crap has been resolved now."

"I knew that wasn't you. That at the bunker, before shit hit the fan, that was you. But you're different from that now. Harder. What happened?"

"A lot. Lost my brothers, the only safe place in this world which turned out wasn't that safe to begin with, which leads me to the conclusion that nothing is safe anymore. We will have to live constantly watching our backs for the rest of our lives now. Until the day they get us, too. I mean really, it's been two fucking years. Who the hell is supposed to save us now and make the world right again? One day those fucking zombies will win and kill the last human on earth."

"Jesus, Nova." Daryl shook his head, a little disturbed by how casually she was talking about it, though her voice sounded dull and monotone.

"Sorry, I go dark sometimes. Keeps happening ever since we found the bunker overrun."

"So ya stayed with Bigfoot? Thought ya wanted ta get away from him." Daryl wasn't about to drop the topic of Danny anytime soon. 'Things change' hadn't been a satisfactory answer to the question why he was still with her.

"He is the only family I have left Daryl. We both lost the rest of our family..." Nova swallowed hard. "There's something I gotta tell you. You should know in case we ever,... well, get close again."

Alarm bells went off in Daryl's head and his whole body stiffened. "Ya fucked him."

"After the bunker, we drove into town. Hid out in Michael's old bar. There was still a ton of booze around. You had pushed me away, the whole stuff with Danny, then finding my brothers gone,... I couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted to forget. So I got drunk. I don't think I've ever been that drunk my entire life. I kissed him. I think on that day I would've fucked him, too, but he stopped us. Thank God he pushed me away. Didn't feel right he said. And somehow it was what we needed for things to get back to normal. Danny went back to normal. He apologized over and over for everything he did in the days before. We talked it out. We're good now and I think he has a huge crush on Michonne now. Finally discovered that I am not that great after all." Nova took a deep breath after her little confession. It felt good to let it out.

"Ya like it?" Daryl felt like he was shaking internally from anger. Imagining Nova kissing Danny, his big-ass hands on her delicate body, it was making him sick to his stomach.

"I don't think so. I was really really drunk. I can barely remember it at all. I just snapped. I didn't know what I was doing. The next day I felt horrible about it. It's something I don't ever wanna do again. And I mean both, getting drunk and kissing Danny. No thanks. Never again."

"Good." Daryl grumbled under his breath. "Want ya ta promise."

"I don't have to promise you anything, Daryl." Nova said softly and when Daryl looked at her he noticed that she had sat up and was looking at him with sad eyes. "You're gonna leave again soon."

"You could come with us."

"Or you could stay." Nova countered and laughed a little when he shook is head no. "So you want me to abandon Danny and Michonne, but you won't do the same for me?"

She had a point. It wasn't fair to ask her to give all this up, if he wasn't willing to abandon the group for her.

"What do you want Daryl?"

"Told ya, another chance."

"I would like that, too, but can you guarantee that you won't get scared and push me away again? If you do that, then what? I'll be completely on my own because I left this place behind for you."

"Won't do it again. I promise ya. Ain't that stupid ta fuck it up twice." He sounded sincere and Nova wanted to give in, but she knew she would be better off by taking some time to think about it.

"I'll talk to Michonne and Danny, see what they wanna do. If they don't wanna come I'll think about coming with you." Nova was looking into his eyes, but got distracted when she noticed him nibbling on his bottom lip again. "I told you to stop that. You distracting me on purpose?"

"Nah, wouldn't do that."

Nova narrowed her eyes at him, when she saw the corners of his mouth tug up into a barely there smile, showing that he was indeed distracting her on purpose.

"You don't play fair, Dixon. This is a serious conversation, you know?" She tried to sound stern, but she couldn't fight the smile that appeared on her lips. "Shit." she cursed and put her hand on his jaw and pulled him to her. She didn't "really" kiss him, she quickly caught his bottom lip between her teeth and bit down, fully intent on punishing him a little for the stunt he pulled, but that plan quickly backfired, when the groan he released wasn't one from pain.

Her stomach clenched hard with a quick surge of lust and she quickly pulled away, wide-eyed. "Shit, you liked that. So much for punishment." Daryl's eyes were slightly glazed when he watched her rub her hands over her face roughly, trying to get it together. She just wasn't able to understand this power he had over her, she couldn't get away from it and that pissed her off a little. She just couldn't get the upper hand with him and that was something she wasn't used to.

"You better go now." She panted slightly and motioned towards the door with her hand.

"Why?" Daryl wanted to do everything BUT leave in this particular moment.

"Because this is so not right. You make me forget everything, make me just want to follow you blindly wherever you will go. Can't have that. Need to think about this and I need a clear head for that and you are not helping. So leave. Now."

"Alright. Can I come back later?" Now he looked at her shyly like a puppy dog, again not helping her to strengthen her resolve.

"Yeah, after dinner." she smiled softly and stroked her thumb over his scruff once more before she released him and pointed towards the door again.

Daryl nodded, satisfied with her answer and finally got up and left, closing the door behind him. His blood ran cold when he saw Danny leaning against the wall outside of Nova's room.

"Got my eye on you, Dixon. Hurt her and you'll be very sorry." Danny told him completely calm, but his eyes told a different story. Daryl just scowled back at him and Danny turned and walked away without another word. Daryl was glad he had Nova back in his life, but he seriously could do without Danny. So far he didn't seem much different from how he was before.

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"What do you think we should do?" Michonne asked when she, Nova and Danny gathered in Nova's room.

"I don't know about you, but I'm gonna stay." Danny stated, making both women gape at him.

"Just like that? You don't even wanna discuss this?" Michonne was shocked, she thought they would make that decision together, all three of them.

"That means you wanna go, doesn't it?" Danny didn't really have to have a meeting, he knew both women wanted to go. He could see it in Michonne's eyes the minute Rick offered.

"They are a good group. Good people. I wanna join them again. I heard that message on the radio about the sanctuary. It's out there. We just have to find it. Rick is a good leader. He brought them this far. Yes, I wanna go with him and I want you to come, too."

"What about you Novi?" Danny asked, but already knew the answer. "You're gonna follow Daryl, right?"

"I wouldn't call it that. Michonne is right, they are a good group and you've seen Daryl out there, they are in there fucking element when they are fighting those things. We might have the best chances sticking with them. How long do you think this house will hold up for? The bunker got overrun, that little fence out there is nothing."

"We don't know if they got overrun, I still think it was people who got in there and the walkers showed up after."

"Still,... I've been thinking about this for five hours now. I thought about every option we have and I think safety in numbers is the best option." Nova had made up her mind, without including Daryl in her thoughts. It was made purely out of survival instinct.

"You just wanna be with Daryl. That's what it's all about. I thought it was just him who was into you, but the way you were when we left that farm behind, I knew then that you were into him, too. Finally made me realize that you'll never hook up with me. You missed him, don't even deny it. The way you acted when Michonne brought him up... so don't tell me about safety in numbers, you just wanna be with him."

"It's not true. You'll just have to take my word for it. My decision on wanting to go has nothing to do with Daryl. Having him around will be a bonus. I won't go into details why I wanna go, because you won't believe me anyway right now, but my mind is made up. I'll go."

"Me, too." Michonne declared. "And you shouldn't stay here alone, Danny. Just come with us. It's the best for all of us."

"Shit, I don't know. I just don't know." Danny muttered and got up from the bed and left the room without another word. He needed some more time to think.

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**AN: Thank you for reading.**

**Just a little filler stuff for today, a little bit of Daryl and Nova trying to move on from the past. I don't think she'll be able to stay away for too long. Daryl is bewitching her too much, haha.**

**Grrrrrr, can't access the reviews right now, what is it with this site lately? My apologies for once again not being able to thank you personally, forgive me. Every single one of you who takes the extra minute of time to leave a review is very very much loved and appreciated!**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Done with your little conference?" Daryl poked his head into Nova's room. He'd taken Danny's reappearance down in the living room as a sign, that she was free now and she had agreed to him coming back after dinner and dinner had been a while ago.

"Yeah. Come in, close the door." She smiled and scooted over in bed so he could sit next to her where she leaned against the wooden headboard.

Daryl did what he was told and then went over to the bed and took his seat next to her.

"You guys talk about what you wanna do?" He was anxious to find out what they had decided on and if he could get his hopes up in regard of her staying with him.

"Yes." Daryl fought the urge to roll his eyes at her, when she seemed to be starting up with the monosyllabic responses again.

"And?"

"Michonne and I know what we want, but Danny still needs some time to think."

"Meaning?" He would never understand why she was so hellbent on staying with Danny. If he chose to join the group Daryl was facing the hardship of having to keep himself from killing the guy every day. Although it had been Nova's doing, Daryl was pissed at Danny every single time the image of the two kissing and his hands on Nova's body floated through Daryl's mind.

"Meaning that Danny still needs some time."

"So you're saying your decision depends on what he wants to do? Thought your mind was made up?"

"It is."

"Goddamn woman, why is everything like pulling teeth with ya? Can't ya just fucking tell me what I wanna know?" Daryl was exasperated that she was playing around with him again. He knew she did it on purpose, but that didn't keep his temper from flaring up.

"You'll know soon enough." Nova smiled and put her hand on the now familiar spot on his jaw and gently rubbed her thumb back and forth over his cheek to calm him down.

"Wanna know now." Daryl grumbled and leaned into her touch, feeling his rattled nerves being soothed by the physical contact. It was amazing how she was able to rile him up and then cool him back down in record time.

"Patience, darlin'." She turned her body a little to face him a bit more and leaned her head against the wall while she looked at him and let her fingertips ghost over his face, from his forehead, over his temples, down his cheek and along his jaw, before she traced his bottom lip with her thumb.

Daryl didn't know what to do or even what to think. He had never received this kind of affection from anyone and he was still caught in the mindset that he might not deserve it. His insecurity showed when he started to chew on the inside of his bottom lip. Nova just smiled as if to say that it's okay and slowly removed her hand from his face and took hold of his and kissed the heart tattoo on his wrist.

"Kinda feels like punishment." Her eyes snapped back up to his face when he said the words, a frown settling on her features.

"Punishment?" She didn't mean for her kisses to feel like a punishment, not realizing that Daryl was referring to their conversation.

"Not tellin' me what you're gonna do. Feels like punishment." He elaborated and felt oddly calm, when her thumb absently rubbed gentle circles over the pulse point on his wrist.

"Maybe it is. You really hurt me Daryl. I like you, but you can trust me when I say that I won't let myself get too emotionally attached to you this time around. Not as fast as last time. You will get a second chance, I wanna make it work and be around you, too, but you can't blame me for being a little more guarded this time."

"Knowin' you rubbed up on Sasquatch ain't no fun for me neither." He argued, letting her know that she had hurt him, too by doing that.

"But you do realize that you really can't compare those two things, right?"

"True. I didn't cheat on ya." Daryl shrugged and Nova's jaw damn near dropped to the floor.

"Excuse me? I did in no way cheat on you!" Her blood was boiling, she couldn't believe that he had gone there. He smirked and it infuriated her even more. "What the fuck are you smiling at, jackass?"

"Gotcha. That was for making me mad on purpose. Now we're even."

Nova narrowed his eyes at him, searching his face intently. "Do you really believe that I cheated on you?"

"Nah, was just kiddin'. We weren't no couple or nothin'. I sent ya away and guess ya had something of a weak moment. I know it ain't cheating, so relax, okay?" He quickly intertwined their fingers and stroked his thumb over the back of her hand, hoping it would have the same calming effect on her.

"You gotta work on your jokes, 'cause that wasn't funny." Nova took a deep breath to calm herself and slowly felt herself relax again.

"Wasn't s'pposed ta make ya laugh. Sorry." He turned his body towards her, too so that they now sat facing each other, while resting against the headboard of the bed. "So we good now? 'Cause when ya say that ya wanna be around me, to me that says that you're gonna come with us."

"You're right, that's what it means." Nova confirmed and giggled, when she saw him trying to fight a smile. "It's okay, you can show that you're happy about whatever it is you're happy about. Happy about the fact that I kinda blabbed or happy about the fact that I'm gonna come."

"'m glad 'bout both." He let the smile come out now and gave her hand a light squeeze. "So we good?"

"Yeah, we're good. Unfortunately I lack the ability of staying mad at you for too long. Especially when you're right in front of me, it seems."

"Not so unfortunate for me." He smirked and tried to relax and let himself just enjoy it, when she raised her hand to his face again and traced her fingers over his scruff.

"I like this." She smiled softly and tugged on the beard on his chin a little.

"Yeah? That's a first. Only know women to bitch and moan about it. Wanting everything ta be smooth like a baby's butt."

"Not me. I like feeling whether I'm kissing a man or a woman. I like the prickly, scratchy scruff on guys. Smooth and soft just works better on girls." she explained while her eyes took in his lips, memorizing their fullness and the curves and the way they moved when he talked.

"You kiss girls often?" He asked amused.

"Not lately, but I had a girlfriend or two while I was traveling through Europe. Nothing really serious, just a little fun. Never stayed too long in one place anyway."

"Hold on, now. Are you serious? Like 'girlfriend' girlfriend?" He stared at her wide-eyed.

"Why? Would me being bisexual be a huge problem to you?"

"Nah,..., just tryin' ta figure out if your fucking around with me 'gain." Daryl had no problem with it, if it was true. Imagining her with another girl was kind of hot, as long as it was clear that he wasn't into any threesome kind of shit. He didn't like sharing.

"No, not joking around. I've slept with girls before. Not a lot, just twice or three times, but it happened, but it's been like 10 years now and I am way more into men than into women, so nothing for you to worry about, okay? It was my experimental phase and I was pretty open to new things."

"And ya liked it?"

"It was okay. I was more into kissing them than actually having sex with them. Takes a real man to make me happy in that department, you know?"

"Good ta know." he said dryly, making Nova laugh.

"Sorry, didn't mean to shock you or anything. I know it didn't seem like that the first couple of times we talked, but I am actually very open and share probably too much right away."

"Yeah, with anyone but me. Fucking pissed me off."

"I know and that's why I did it. Just to fuck around with you a little bit. You're hot when you get angry, you know?"

"Trust me, ya don't want me ta be angry at ya for real. Ain't pretty." He warned and Nova nodded with a smile.

"I figured that much." She traced her her thumb over his right eyebrow and smiled. "Why do you scowl so much? You have such beautiful eyes and you barely ever let anyone see them. The day you caught me, your face was so different, completely unguarded and open. Just gorgeous."

Daryl grew uncomfortable with the conversation and just shrugged, not knowing what to say. He didn't even realize when he was scowling. It's been his habit for ages now, he wasn't even consciously doing it anymore. It was just his face now.

"Didn't I tell you to stop that like three times now?"

He was biting his lip again and she was pushing her thumb against it to pull it free again. Daryl didn't even know where it came from when he made his teeth let go and parted his lips, letting his tongue flick quickly against the pad of her thumb.

Nova breathed in sharply and looked at him wide-eyed. "Damn Daryl, that really ain't fighting fair."

She cradled his face in both hands now and pulled his face to hers. There was nothing gentle about the way she pressed her lips to his. Her kiss was urgent and insistent. She licked slowly along his bottom lip, before she caught it between her own teeth and pulled gently. Daryl's groan and the way he grabbed her arms tightly made her shiver with excitement. As soon as she released his lip, Daryl pushed his tongue into her mouth, nudging hers and exploring her mouth. Nova jerked when the tip rubbed against the roof of her mouth and she pulled away with a giggle.

"That tickles!" she swatted at his chest gently.

"Sorry." he smirked, although he really wasn't.

"Shit, I missed this." she smiled, panting a little and pulling his mouth back to hers. Two months ago he had gotten her hooked with just one kiss and now she got a serious rush from kissing him again after 8 weeks of withdrawal.

Daryl let his hands glide down to her waist and pulled her closer to him while their tongues circled each other languidly. Once he was satisfied with her proximity, one hand moved up to her neck, holding her possessively, not willing to let her break contact with him. Nova just loved it. Her hands roamed over his chest and his strong arms before she wrapped her arms around his neck and kneeled up in bed, scooting even closer and pushing herself up against his front. Daryl wrapped his arm around her tightly, relishing in the feel of having her this close. Slowly he moved from his sideway position, so that his back was against the wall again. He carefully pulled her with him, the hand on her neck positioned itself on the back of her thigh, pulling at it gently and experimentally to see if she would be okay with straddling him.

Nova was all too willing to swing her leg over him, it would be way more comfortable this way anyway and she didn't feel like stopping their making out anytime soon. She straddled his lap and kept her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and her front firmly pressed to his. They were making out like teenagers. Their lips were red and puffy by now, but neither cared, their tongues kept cirlcling and gliding and exploring, while Daryl's hand roamed her back. Every now and then he would press his fingertips into the skin of her back hard like he was trying to get a grip on himself.

"Why do I feel like you're holding back?" Nova panted against his lips when he did it for the fourth time.

"Told ya last time, it's been a while, don't wanna forget 'bout ma manners and good intentions."

"Maybe I want you to forget about those." She pulled back a little and smiled. "Listen, I'm not saying that we're gonna go all the way here, but I'm a grown woman, Daryl. I know that men get hard-ons and I love feeling that I can affect you in that way, alright? Even if we'd stop now and you'd go to the bathroom to rub one out I'd see it as a fucking compliment. I just want you to enjoy yourself and let go, do what you feel like doing. If I'm not into it, I'll stop you. Clear?"

"Crystal,... Jesus fucking Christ, woman." Daryl was blushing a little, but at the same time he was amazed that she talked about it so openly. It would take some getting used to, but it also calmed his nerves a little to know that he didn't have to try to keep himself from getting a boner, because he was doing a poor job anyway. He was already half-hard in his jeans. Like he said, it had been quite some time since the last time he had a warm and willing woman this close and his blood was singing in his veins from the pleasure her lips and tongue were evoking. Daryl liked kissing, always had. He had a bit of an oral fixation. He was either chewing on his fingers or on his own lip or he smoked or put a straw of hay in his mouth, so whenever he got the chance to put his mouth to work he took it and kissing was a great way for him to get his fix. That's what his fuck buddies had loved about him. He barely ever stopped kissing them or putting his mouth on them in any way possible.

So when his lips found their way to her throat and he started sucking at the soft skin, he was a little disappointed when she pulled at his hair to get him to break contact.

"Hey, no marks. At least not in such an obvious place, alright? Not yet." She breathed heavily. It had felt so damn good, but she didn't feel comfortable with having his mark on her yet. Not in a place where everyone would be able to see. She wanted to talk to Danny first and not let him find out this way that she would give her and Daryl a try.

"Why not?" The scowl was back on Daryl's face. "Ya ashamed or somethin'?"

"No, I'm not. I know you'll disagree, but I don't want Danny to find out about us making out like that. I wanna talk to him first and then you can give me as many damn hickey's as you want, anywhere you want. Alright?"

"Fine." He spat, absolutely not sounding like it was fine. He slowly pushed her off his lap and rubbed his eyes. "Should go down anyway. Time ta sleep. I'm taking watch at 3 am."

"You're mad."

"Nah, ain't mad, just... fucking Sasquatch. Can't stand the guy. Don't know why you go outta your way to make sure he ain't getting hurt."

"I know you don't, but I think it's just the right thing to do here. Doesn't change anything, though, 'kay? Like I said, just lemme give him a heads up and then you can go crazy." She smiled and kissed his cheek before he was able to slide off the bed.

"Yeah, yeah. 's fine." he couldn't help it, his mood was miffed for now. His only hope was, that Danny wouldn't change his mind. Because if Nova and Michonne want to come with them, that meant that Danny was not yet sure if he wanted to join them and Daryl would thank the good Lord on his knees if Danny wanted to stay behind and he would be out of their lives forever. Otherwise Nova would just always be mindful of the jackass and Daryl would always want to strangle him and that would make life only more uncomfortable and they surely didn't need that.

"Come and wake me up after your shift?" She asked when he opened the door.

"Sure." Daryl gave her a little nod. "Sleep tight."

"You too."

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**AN: Some Nova/Daryl goodness for you today. Thank you for reading! Hello to the new followers and favoriters. Thank you for spending your time reading this.**

** DarylDixon'sLover: Thank you! xoxo**

** mamareadstomuch2: Yes, let's all bite that lip! So tempting when he does his chewing thing. One of these days I'm gonne bite the tv, I swear to god! xoxo**

** Nemu-Chan: Thank you. It might take a while until we find out what happened at the bunker. Or maybe we won't ever find out, because if Paul, Alex and Josh are dead, nobody will ever know what happened there.**

** xamss: I figured you'd hate Nova kissing Danny, lol. Poor girl just had a little breakdown of her own. The man she liked pushed her away, so maybe in a fucked up way she wanted some male attention in her drunk haze. People make mistakes and she regrets it and won't ever do it again.**

** MonkeysGoBoo: I'll see what I can do, lol. Story would probably get boring soon without Danny.**

** jeanf: There you go, new chapter:) Yes, Daryl and Nova are definitely on their way to rebuild their relationship now. Poor girl is helpless with that power he's got over her.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Nova had intended to go to sleep after Daryl left, but she kept tossing and turning. Their make-out session had left her hot and bothered and she regretted pushing him away, but in the end she knew it was the right thing to do, because she had to talk to Danny first. So after an hour she pushed the blanket aside and got up. She better get this over with quickly, the group would probably move on in a couple of days and alone time with Daryl would probably be rare on the road.

A minute later she found herself in the doorway to Danny's room. He had two candles lit and was engrossed in a book. His head snapped up when she knocked her knuckles lightly against the wood of the doorframe.

"Hey Danny. Gotta tell you something you don't wanna hear. You up for it?" She saw him sigh deeply and he made a quick come hither-motion with his hand while he put the book to the side.

"So what other delightful news do you have for me now?" he asked when he scooted over in bed a little so she would be able to sit with him.

"You were right. It wasn't just Daryl who was into me, I'm into him, too. The day before we dropped them off at the farm, we kissed."

"And then he told us to leave? Wow, class A guy, huh? Well, good to know that some things never change. You still go for the jerks who treat you like shit."

"He fucked up, yeah. It hurt, but I'm getting over it. We're gonna give it another go, just wanted to give you a heads up in person." Nova wasn't a fan of beating around the bush or sugar-coating. She knew he wouldn't be happy either way so she just went with straightforward.

"You really sure about this, Novi? And I don't mean this in a jealous way. I know we had a rough time back when I found out about my old man doing that shit to you. I just wanted to protect you. It went into overdrive, I desperately wanted to be that guy for you, that you would let me be that guy. Instead you wanted HIM to do it, a dude you barely even knew. It made me snap. I know we talked about all this a couple of times before. We're back in a good zone now and I know we are never gonna end up romantically and I am okay with that. Yeah, repeating myself here, I just wanna make sure you know that this isn't jealousy talking, but really Nova, are you sure? That guy?"

"Can't help who I like Danny, so yeah. That guy. I'm not asking for your opinion on him, I know you don't like him and I don't care. I just wanted to tell you what's going on and what is going to be going on from now on."

"Fine. I know you well enough to know that nothing I say will make you change your mind anyway. It's just gonna be weird seeing you with a guy again after all this time. And of course it has to be my arch-nemesis." Danny grinned and Nova laughed out loud.

"Arch-nemesis? Oh come on, it's not that bad. You guys got along before your Dad happened. What happened after that, that it went to shit?" Nova remembered that Daryl and Danny didn't have problems at the bunker and was curious what had gotten them to hate each other.

"What happened? You happened, girl! When he flipped out like that on my Dad for hurting you, that was when I knew that he had a thing for you. And who could blame him? It was when you just left with him that I started to dislike him. Felt threatened I guess. And you know the rest. We were two guys that wanted the same girl. Of course we're not friends anymore."

"But now that things are settled, don't you think you guys can go back to being okay around one another?"

"I don't think we'll ever be okay with being around each other. The best we can do is be civil and keep our distance. I'll have his back out there as a group member, just like he'll have mine, but other than that, I think we are just done. No chance of ever being friends."

"Fair enough. Oh wait, does that mean you'll come with us?" Nova smiled triumphantly when Danny nodded.

"Yeah. What am I gonna do? Stay here by myself? Die of boredom and loneliness? If there is a sanctuary out there, we should go look for it."

"Really? What changed your mind? Michonne wouldn't have anything to do with that, would she?" Nova grinned and nudged him when a little blush spread on Danny's cheeks.

"She's awesome." he admitted with his boyish grin.

"She is, no doubt about that." Nova agreed.

"And she's hot."

"Yep, that too. And a nice smile."

"Do I have to worry here?" Danny poked Nova in the ribs which caused her to giggle and swat his hand away.

"Ha ha! No Daryl is the only one who makes me tingly these days, don't worry."

"Okaaaay and we have crossed into oversharing-territory." Danny shuddered, he just couldn't understand what about the redneck would be appealing to her.

"Agreed. Alright, I'm headed back to bed, just wanted to get this talk out of the way." Nova smiled and got out of his bed.

"Appreciate it. Don't like it, but still thanks for telling me."

"No problem. Sleep well, Big Guy." she smiled and gave him a little wave before she left his room to go back to her own bed. Now that she had gotten that talk out of the way she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

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At 7 am Daryl snuck into Nova's room quietly. He closed the door and leaned against it, watching her sleep for a moment. How was it possible for a woman with her built to take up an entire big bed? He estimated her height to be around 5'4" and she probably weighed about 130 pounds from the look and feel of it, but still, there was barely any space on the queen sized bed for him to sit on. She was sprawled out on her back, like a lazy cat that had eaten too much, with all four limps stretched out to the max. He had never seen anyone sleep like that, it was kinda funny to look at.

He stepped closer and kicked the wooden frame of the bed twice. "Hey."

Her eyes were still closed as a frown settled over her features and she rolled over on her right side. "That's not a nice way to wake someone up." She croaked, her voice thick and even scratchier than usual from sleeping.

"Ya woke up, so it's efficient." Daryl shrugged nonchalantly and watched Nova yawn and stretch before she opened her eyes and gave him a little smile.

"Boots off, vest off and then get in here." she commanded him while she lifted the warm blanket for him to slip under once he was done.

Daryl shrugged of his leather vest and tossed it on a chair that sat in the corner of the room. Then he sat down on the edge of the bed and took off his boots before he let himself fall back into bed with her. Nova covered them both up with the blanket and pressed herself against his side. Her lips traveled along his neck and up to his jaw, placing sweet little kisses on his skin.

"Good morning, handsome. Did you manage to get some sleep before your watch?" She asked between kisses while the fingers of her left hand roamed teasingly over his chest.

"A little. What're you doing?"

"Showing you a nice way of how to wake up someone you care about. You are so tense. What's wrong?" She stopped what she was doing and leaned up on her elbow to look at him.

"Nothin." Daryl shrugged, not wanting to admit that he was still a little miffed about her pushing him away and also that he felt inexplicably shy when she showered him with affection like that.

"Doesn't look like nothing. I talked to Danny last night. I know you didn't agree with my decision, I'm neither stupid nor blind. It's not that I care about his opinion, he can say whatever he wants, it wouldn't make me change my mind, you know. He is just the only family I have left now and you know he used to like me and it's gonna be weird for him seeing me with you, so all I wanted to do was tell him straight up what was happening, alright? Nothing more, nothing less. I just thought it was the right thing to do."

"Used to like ya? So he done with that now?"

"Yes, he's done. He knows him and me are never gonna happen and like I said, he really likes Michonne, so can we stop that pissing contest now? I'm with you. I chose you. Okay?"

"Yeah, guess I can live with that." Daryl agreed while his smirk found its way back to his lips.

"Oh you guess you can live with that? Well thank God for that." Nova laughed and hugged him tight for a moment. Then she proceeded to gently kiss along his neck, while she apologized quietly for the previous night. "I'm sorry for making you stop. I know that shit was confusing. First I tell you to do what you feel like doing and the next thing you know, I stop you. Won't happen again, I promise. Wasn't thinking straight. You are an expert at making my thoughts all jumbly."

"Yeah? Why's that?" Daryl asked in a soft growl. His eyes were closed and he felt himself relax a little more with every little kiss she pressed against his skin.

"You're one hell of a kisser, you know? Smooched my brains out." Nova giggled against his throat. "Hm, maybe I shouldn't ever let you bang me. What if my head explodes?"

"That's ridiculous." Daryl chuckled and tickled her ribs.

"I know. It's not like I would even be able to say no to you."

"Ya did last night."

"That was an exception. Now my conscience is clear and nothing will keep me from getting lost in those sexy eyes of yours."

"Unless I scowl."

"Right and you scowl all the time. Well there's plenty more about you than just your eyes."

"Stop."

"What? Do compliments make you uncomfortable?"

He shrugged and she took that as a yes. She didn't want to make him more uncomfortable so she decided to change the topic. "Wanna try to get some more sleep? You can sleep in here. I'll go out in a little bit anyway to get some stuff done for when we leave."

"Sounds good." he yawned and pulled the blanket up higher until it met his chin.

"Alright, I'll get out of your hair and let you sleep." She kissed his forehead while his eyes already closed and got up to gather her clothes. It didn't take long for Daryl to fall asleep, surrounded by her residual warmth and her scent. She watched him for a moment, admiring how much younger he looked when his features were relaxed. She fought the urge to go over and kiss him, she didn't want to risk waking him up, so she quietly opened and closed the door and went to the bathroom to get ready.

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After a cup of horrible instant coffee Nova went out with Danny to check the traps in the park once again. With more mouths to feed now, they were going to check daily before they would leave. It was always better to have too much meat than too little. They could always make jerky and take it with them on the road.

"I wish we could find a cow." Nova said out of the blue on their way back, making Danny almost double over with laughter. The way she had said it had cracked him up.

"Why? Jonesing for a cheeseburger?"

"Oh yeah, that too. I meant for milk, though. I have never ever been a big fan of milk, but now I want it desperately. I hate black coffee and dry cereal."

"Be glad that we do have cereal at all." Danny reminded her that they should be thankful for any kind of food they had.

"Yes I know and I am. Just remembering the good old times."

"Enjoy the times we have now, I am sure it's gonna get worse soon. Who knows when the next time we'll feel a bed cushioning our bodies will be? God and please don't fuck Dixon while we're out there and share tight quarters. Don't need to hear him grunting like a bull." Danny made a face, but Nova knew that he was just joking around.

"Grunting like a bull? Maybe he is more of a barker?" Nova laughed. "Or a howler?"

"What the fuck is a barker?"

"It's what I call when guys do these weird loud shouts. Almost sounds like barking. I don't know. Maybe I should have said shouter."

"Whatever it is, I don't think anyone of us wants to hear it."

"I don't think you will. I actually think that he is pretty quiet. A lot of guys are quiet and I'm sure he's no exception." Nova mused out loud.

"Why are we even talking about Dixon's sex noises?"

"You started it!"

"Yeah well, now I'm ending it. We're almost home anyway." Danny pointed towards their house and then whistled twice so Michonne would open the gate.

"I think we might have made the whole rabbit population of Burlington go extinct." she smiled slightly, when she noticed another couple of bunnies in their friends' hands.

"Yeah, but who cares? We're leaving soon anyway. Daryl will probably find other creatures for us to eat, then." Nova handed the rabbits over to Michonne and closed the gate herself before she joined the others inside. She spotted Daryl talking to Rick and walked up to him. She put her hand on his jaw and turned his face towards her and placed a big, deep kiss on his lips, then she pulled away with a smile and stroked her thumb over his bottom lip.

"Hey, Hot Stuff. Sleep well?" she asked, not noticing how quiet the room had gone. Everybody was gaping at the two in shock. But that shock only lasted about three seconds, then everybody had to try to hold in their laughter, when they noticed how flustered Daryl was. The look on their resident hunter's face was absolutely priceless. He was completely at a loss.

Nova was blissfully unaware of what was going on as she kissed him again before she went to the kitchen to get some water to drink. She had noticed that Daryl had been a little flabbergasted, but she thought it was just surprise that she had done it in front of Danny, after she had pushed Daryl away the previous day. But like she had said, she just wanted to let him know what was going on. She didn't care that he didn't like it. Daryl was her guy now and she would kiss him whenever she felt like it, just like she had done with her other boyfriends she's had over the years.

Daryl blushed when he noticed Rick's amused smirk, but fortunately the former Sheriff didn't say anything about what had just happened. Daryl couldn't even name what he felt like in that moment. He wasn't into PDA at all and obviously Nova didn't have a problem with showing affection publicly at all. It was something they would very much have to talk about. Just a teeny tiny little kiss, he probably could have lived with, but what she had just done, that had felt way too intimate to do in front of an audience. He was mortified, because he saw that not only Rick had that amused smirk on his face, but everybody else had them, too. Daryl felt like he was the butt of a joke and he didn't like it one bit.

When Nova went up the stairs he excused himself and quickly followed her. She was just about to enter her room when she heard him leap up the steps at record speed and before she could asked what was wrong he had pushed her into her room and closed the door. He stared down at her with an intense gaze.

"Don't fucking do that again!" he growled angrily.

Nova was puzzled and a little taken aback by his anger. "Do what? Go out to the park? I told you thi-"

"Kissin' on me in front of everybody. Don't want that. Ain't one of those fucking saps who does that all the time. If ya do it again, we're gonna have a problem."

"Ooookaaaay... calm down, buddy. I was just happy to see you." She held up her hands defensively, stunned by his reaction to her kissing him hello. "No need to yell. Didn't know you had that much of a problem with it. You were the one who wanted to mark me last night."

"That's different. Not like I would have done it in front of everybody. Don't nobody need to see the shit we do in private."

"Mhm,... so just to make sure I won't offend you anymore,... I am not allowed to kiss you when someone else is around?"

"Exactly."

"Am I allowed to kiss your cheek? Hug you? Hold your hand? Kiss your hand?"

"No."

"No to all of that?" Nova inquired and sighed deeply when Daryl nodded. "Okay so that means as soon as somebody else is around I am supposed to act like you are just an acquaintance to me?"

"Yeah, got other stuff to worry about anyway when we're all together. Don't nobody need us to get all kissy and shit."

"Okay, but as soon as we are alone all bets are off? I can do to you whatever I want?"

"Pretty much, I guess." Daryl nodded and bit his lip nervously. His anger had dissipated and now he grew a little anxious because Nova seemed to be a little unhappy about that development.

"Pffff, that's bullshit, Daryl." She shook her head and scoffed. She took another deep sigh and walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge to take off her boots. "Fine, if that's what you want. I'll try to live with it. If the past two months taught me anything it was that having just a little bit of you is better than not having you at all."

Daryl sat down next to her and looked at her carefully. "You mad, huh?"

"No, I'm just trying to understand and it's pretty hard for me to get it. Why is it such a problem for you?"

"Just is. Ain't ever been into that cuddly stuff. Not ma style."

"You liked the cuddly stuff just fine when we were alone around the fire at night."

"Yeah, just don't like anyone seeing me like that. Just you." He shrugged apologetically.

"Do you think it might get a bit better in the future? That you might come to a point someday that won't make you want to bite my head off if I touch your hand or anything like that?"

"I might. Can't promise ya, but I might. Just not used to this stuff. Gimme some time?" He gave her is shy little boy look and she felt herself melt like butter. Damn him and his stupid charm.

"Alright. You got it. But hey, yell at me again and I swear I'll kick your ass."

Daryl smirked, showing her that he didn't think she would be able to take him. Nova narrowed her eyes at him and quick like a snake her hand shot out and she pinched his nipple through the worn fabric of his shirt sharply and twisted a little. Daryl jumped in shock and gripped her wrist.

"Yeah, alright, fine! Let go." He was laughing a little and pried her fingers off of him and playfully shoved her so she landed on her back on the bed.

"That wasn't exactly fair play, was it?" He smirked when he leaned his torso over hers and supported his weight on his forearms next to her head.

"No it wasn't, but you don't ever fight fair either, handsome, and two can play that game." Nova grinned cheekily and brought her hand into his hair, slowly pulling him down to her.

"Is that right? Want me to do that ta you?"

"Better not,... not that hard anyway. Mine are kinda sensitive, you know?" Nova said and giggled when a groan escaped his mouth.

"Goddamnit woman, why you always gotta say stuff like that?"

"Because I love how it makes you blush and gets you going at the same time." She smiled and leaned her head up to close the gap between them. They kissed hard, their tongues swirling around each other urgently. Nova clawed at his shirt, she had the sudden and overwhelming urge to feel his skin underneath her hands. Daryl quickly straddled her and pushed an arm underneath her back and with one quick jerk he had dragged her to the middle of the bed. He laid down, mostly on top of her, with one of his legs between hers while they kissed passionately. When she broke away for air he nibbled along her jaw until he reached her ear. She shivered when she felt his hot, panting breath against it and moaned quietly when he sucked on the lobe.

She pushed her hands underneath his sleeveless shirt and let her hands roam over his naked back. She frowned when she felt some anomalies.

"Scars?" She asked for confirmation and felt him nod against her neck. She wanted to ask if he had gotten them by accident of if somebody had given them to him on purpose, but he successfully shut her up by biting down on her pulse point.

"Holy shit." she gasped when he started sucking, softly at first and then slowly increasing the intensity. It was causing all kinds of reactions in her lady parts and it was all she could do to just enjoy it and rake her nails down over his back. Daryl groaned against her skin and sucked a little harder. This time there was no stopping him, he was giving her a monster of a love bite and he got some kind of perverse pleasure out of imagining Danny having to see the mark he was giving her every day for the rest of the week. That pissing contest with Sasquatch was far from over.

When his jaw started to hurt Daryl pulled back and stared at his work with deep satisfaction. He reattached his lips to hers for a deep kiss and this time Nova was the one who pulled away.

"Show me your tattoo? Please?" She smiled gently and Daryl nodded his consent. She had felt the scars now and she'd see them at one point anyway, no need to drag out the wait. Daryl sat up and unbuttoned his shirt, then he pulled it off and hung it over one of the bedposts, then he turned and laid on his stomach next to her, resting his head on his crossed arms. Nova had to keep a gasp from escaping when he saw his scars, she couldn't even imagine how much whatever had caused them must have hurt. She focused on the tattoo of the two gargoyle-like creatures on the right side of his back and gently traced the outline with the tip of her index finger.

"I love it. Kinda suits you. Pretty big, too." She smiled quietly.

"Ain't nearly as big as yours. You're a damn trooper, woman."

"So are you,..." she trailed off and carefully let her fingertips wander over to the other side of his back and travel over the thick criss cross of scar tissue near his shoulder. Daryl jumped a little, but let her explore. "What happened?"

"Ma old man,... liked his drinks." Daryl mumbled, not feeling like saying any more about it.

"He still alive? Can I go and do the same to him?"

"Nah, died already. Right at the start of this outbreak. Got what he deserved."

"Good." Nova was pleased by that bit of information. "Don't get startled." she warned him before she leaned over his back and gently placed kisses along his scars. She knew she was too late to soothe the hurt, but she still tried. Daryl felt nervous and weird at first, but the more she kissed his back, the warmer he felt on the inside. He was touched by her actions and his anxiety slowly left his body and was replaced by acceptance. She was showing him that she accepted him with all his flaws. While her lips moved down his back, she changed her position and after kissing the last scar, she straddled his butt and put her hands on his shoulders, her thumbs kneading his tense muscles.

"I knew I wasn't the only one with aching muscles." She smiled, referring to that time in the bathroom two months ago, when he had massaged her shoulders.

"It's ma crossbow. Keeps slapping against it and it's kinda heavy, too. Used ta it by now, though. If ya keep that up Imma fall asleep." he warned, his voice already kind of sleepy.

"So? You deserve some sleep."

"Nah, got things to do. Gotta skin those animals. I'm the only one who can do it right."

"That's true." She bend down and kissed the middle of his back, before she let herself fall on her back next to him. Daryl leaned up on his elbows and leaned over to kiss her, but Nova giggled and pressed her hands against his chest.

"Nope, trust me if you start kissin' me with your shirt off you won't be leaving this room for another hour or two. I'm a woman and only human after all." she said and already her fingers were sliding over his pecs and playing through that patch of coarse chest hair. "See? Can't keep my hands off of you. So you better go now."

"Fine." he grumbled playfully and got back up and put on his shirt. "You comin'?"

"Yeah in about five minutes I guess. And when I'm done I'll come down and join you." She said with a straight face and then laughed when he looked at her wide eyed and groaned.

"Goddamnit, woman. You and that naughty mouth of yours. Gonna be the death a me one day. Just know it."

"Just make sure to close the door!" She giggled when he stepped through said door and heard him groan in frustration once again. She knew that not being able to kiss him and touch him whenever she wanted to was going to be hard on her, but she had a feeling that he was worth trying for.

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**AN: Thank you for reading! Hugs to the new followers and favorite-ers. **

** DarylDixon'sLover: And here was some more sexy for you. Hope you enjoyed xoxo**

** mamareadstomuch2: Aw poor mama. Hope you are doing better now. I read up on oral fixation and Daryl/Norman are showing pretty much every single symptom of it, so of course I had to put it in here, lol. I am sure we are all very appreciative of his condition, haha. xoxo**

** jeanf: Nova didn't really care about Danny's feelings. She just likes to be straight up with people and tell them what's going on. She doesn't care what he thinks about it, she just wanted to give him a heads up and be honest instead of just letting him find out on his own. And now she and Daryl can get freaky;-)**

** MonkeysGoBoo: And there was some more of that alone time for you:) Hope you enjoyed it.**

** xamss: No threeways for Daryl, not in this story, lol. But it might be fun to watch Daryl be suspicious not only when she looks at another guy, but also when she looks at another girl. Nah, poor guy, won't let him worry too much. He deserves some lovin' first.**

** drivenunder: Yeah, everybody spazzes out when they think of Daryl and his oral fixation, lol. We are only human after all. Thank you for reading and reviewing.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

That night Rick told the group that they would stay another whole day and leave early the day after tomorrow. He asked for volunteers to do a run to secure some more supplies before they hit the road and Nova, Michonne and Danny volunteered, because they knew the area better than the others. Those three went to bed early, while the rest of the group decided to live a little that night and kill some of the booze that had been in the house. Tyreese declined the offer of alcohol and made himself the designated watch-keeper, while the others had themselves a good time for the first time in months.

Even Daryl let go a little and had some wine. He didn't drink enough to be really drunk, just enough to feel relaxed and a little warm and fuzzy. When he thought it was time for some sleep he walked over to his sleeping bag on the ground by the stairs. He couldn't bring himself to lay down on it, though. Instead he stood there, looking down at it with a frown for a long moment. Nah, sleeping bags sucked. He had a way better place in mind to sleep that night. He kicked his sleeping bag with a little smirk and climbed the stairs and went down the hall to Nova's room. He knocked, but there was no answer. He shrugged and let himself in anyway. The camping lantern was on, but she was asleep, sprawled out like a cat again.

Daryl chuckled quietly and remembered her orders from earlier that day. _'Boots off, vest off and then get into bed.' _He shrugged off his vest and toed off his boots before he stepped closer to the bed. He watched her sleeping peacefully for a moment, then he carefully climbed on top of her, hovering over her body on all fours and looking at her face. Nova's eyes snapped open and she yelped and pushed hard against his chest in shock.

"Jesus fucking Christ! Daryl, what the fuck are you doing?" she was gasping and now holding her hand over her own heart that had skipped a beat before it started hammering in her chest.

"Ain't feelin' like sleepin' yet." He smiled sheepishly and started biting his lip, knowing full well that it would keep her from being mad at him for waking her up.

"Mhm,..." she acknowledged his explanation and just looked at him, while he looked at her expectantly. When she didn't say anything else he suddenly grew shy again, despite the alcohol in his system. Nova just wanted to see what kind of plan he'd had in mind, but it looked like he didn't have a plan at all and when she realized that he was about to go hide inside himself again, she took mercy on him. She put her hand on his neck and kissed him, sucking his bottom lip into her mouth and soothing the self-inflicted bite marks with her tongue.

Daryl moaned ever so quietly and slowly straightened his legs out and let his body rest fully on top of hers. When she released his bottom lip he boldly pushed his tongue between her lips to tease hers. After a quick tangle he let his tongue pull back, making her tongue chase his and follow it back into his mouth. It took mere seconds for the kiss to turn frantic and urgent and a minute later she felt a certain appendage of his pressing firmly into her hip through the fabric of his worn pants.

"Mmmm, someone's a horny drunk." She grinned against his lips and let her hands roam over his back down to his ass and squeezed it firmly, helping him rub against her in the process.

"Ain't drunk. Didn't have that much." he was blushing again. Even though she had told him that she was okay with the whole thing, he was ashamed how quickly he'd gotten hard. He felt like a fucking dog in heat.

"Okay, how about 'a little buzzed'?" She asked with a smile and started unbuttoning his shirt. She leaned up and kissed every inch of his chest she exposed, making a disgruntled sound when she wasn't able to reach his other areas further down his torso.

"Yeah, guess I'm buzzed." he mumbled, feeling like a stammering idiot while he watched her make quick work of his shirt. He took it off and let it fall to the ground when she had completely unbuttoned it and let himself roll over on his back when she pushed her hands against his chest once more.

Nova smiled happily, now her lips and hands were free to explore. She let her hands glide gently over his ribs and belly and her lips left hot open-mouthed kisses all over his chest. Daryl enjoyed the attention very much, but he wanted nothing more than her mouth back on his. When she nuzzled his chest hair she felt his strong hands cup her jaw and pull her back up where his lips pressed against hers insistently. She let her tongue meet his and Daryl was lost in the sensation again, greedily drinking up every little spark of lust their kiss ignited and feeling the anxiousness inside of him subside from finally getting his fix again. Nimble fingertips kept exploring his body and he shivered when the soft pad of her thumbs gently circled his nipples, which quickly peaked.

"Good?" She asked quietly with a smile while she continued her ministrations. "Do you like to have your nipples played with?"

Daryl looked at her with wide eyes, before quickly looking anywhere but her eyes while he blushed furiously. Damn, her being so open about all this would really take some getting used to. None of his fuck buddies had ever been so chatty and they hadn't really cared about what Daryl liked in particular. Nobody had ever asked what he liked, they had always assumed it was just blow jobs and fucking in general, 'cause that's what all guys liked.

This was new to Nova as well. She had never been with a guy that had been this shy about sex. He was a bit of a challenge, just as much as she was a challenge to him. She tried to distract him from his embarrassment by kissing him again and Daryl gladly went along with that. When she felt him relax and start to grind against her again, she carefully tried to get an answer out of him once more.

"Just wanna make you feel good. Is it working?" she asked, keeping her voice soft and gentle, because she's scared he'll get spooked again. He didn't answer, he was busying himself with kissing her neck, but then she felt him nod slightly. She smiled happily and applied a little more pressure and let her fingers rub more firmly over his hard nipples. She bit her lip to keep from grinning when she felt him shudder again while goosebumps broke out on his skin. She felt how hot his face was from blushing against the skin of her neck and shoulder and she found it absolutely endearing and in a way it was kind of a turn-on too. Her fingers slid down to his belt to unbuckle it and when she popped open the button of his jeans and was about to pull down the zipper, Daryl's hand closed over hers and he looked up at her self-consciously.

"What are you doing?" he asked her roughly.

"Just wanna help you out a little. Can't be comfortable like that." She smiled and rubbed his thigh soothingly.

"I'm good." he mumbled quickly and pulled her face to his again, but Nova didn't let him. She pulled back a little and studied him.

"You're the first guy I've ever known to turn down a handjob. What's wrong?" Daryl looked away and just shrugged while he let his fingers play with a loose thread at the hem of her top. Nova took a moment to think, trying to figure out what was wrong and what kind of mindset he was in right now. She had never met a shy guy, so it wasn't an easy task to put herself in his shoes, but after a moment of connecting the dots, she was sure she had found the answer.

"Okay, I think I get it. You don't feel comfortable being the only one in that vulnerable state, am I right? Sorry for talking this to pieces, I just wanna make sure I know where you're coming from." When Daryl shrugged again she knew she had hit the issue spot on. She smiled, because now she had something to go on.

"I think I know how to fix that!" She smiled and sat up and with her back to him she peeled off her top and let it fall to the floor on top of his own shirt, revealing her naked back. She just kept sitting there, waiting to see if he would relax and take some initiative. It didn't take very long until she felt tentative fingers tracing her tattoo where it ran along her lower back. She heard rustling and felt his body heat radiating towards her, signaling her that he had sat up. She felt him moving around and then saw his legs appearing at either side next to hers. Soft lips pressed against her shoulder and then it was her turn to shudder when she felt his wet tongue trace the line of her tattoo where it ran across her right shoulder. Heated hands slid up her ribs, over her shoulder blades and to her upper arms, gripping gently and pulling her back against his hard chest. The apex of her neck and shoulder were now cradling his chin and she felt the teasing scratch of his scruff against her soft skin every time he moved to press a kiss against her neck and shoulder.

Nova closed her eyes and leaned her head to the side to give him better access, while Daryl kept his eyes on his hands that were now sliding up her flat belly and cupped her full breasts. He was real gentle with her, which at that moment she considered a new form of torture. His fingertips barely even touched her when he rubbed them over her nipples, turning the feeling into this extremely hot tickling sensation that pulled all the right strings all the way down deep inside her belly. She was tempted to put her hands over his and squeeze hard, making him touch her harder, but she wanted to let him do his thing so she forced herself to keep her hands still or at least to keep them on his thighs, clenching the firm muscles underneath her palms every couple of seconds and communicating in that way that she was enjoying herself. She was almost scared to make a sound, unsure whether it would make him nervous again or not.

She didn't have to be scared though. Now that he was out of that vulnerable situation of just laying back and taking what she wanted to give, he felt more in his element and was able to relax more. He had always been in charge, it was weird for him to have anyone else take over. What she had done to him had felt incredibly good, but had felt too shy with her still being dressed and him half naked with his dick to be taken out. He had to work his way up to being comfortable with that and her allowing him to do this for her first was helping with that.

He was distracting her by sucking a second mark into her neck, but she was still very aware and also very surprised when one of his hands trailed down over her belly with certainty. She didn't feel any shyness coming from him like she had before and she took note. 'Interesting, taking matters into his hands, that he feels safe with.' she thought before her breath hitched, when his fingers delved into her panties. It was evident he had done that before when two of his fingers slightly dipped into her opening, coating them in her wetness, then dragged them back up and rubbed gentle, wet circles around her clit.

"Holy shit!" slipped out of her mouth in a surprised gasp. Her fingers dug painfully into his thigh, but he enjoyed every second of it. This was what he liked, turning her into putty in his hands, making her come apart in his arms. But Nova wasn't about to let him distract her too much from what she wanted to do.

"Two can play that game, remember?" She panted and pulled his hands away from her body. She turned around and kneeled between his legs, kissing him so wildly and passionately that his toes were curling. He didn't even notice that she had rid herself of her panties before she pushed him on his back. Her fingers went back to his fly, but this time she looked up at him for consent. When he nodded she quickly tore his jeans down to his knees, leaving him in his boxers, letting him decide whether he wanted to keep them on or not. She laid down on her side and pulled on his arm so he would do the same and face her. She kissed him again, their tongues dueling like their lives depended on it. She hooked her leg over his hip, opening herself up for him to continue what he had started. Daryl wasted no time and this time he let his fingers thrust deeply inside of her while his thumb worked over her clit. Nova wasn't able to contain her moans this time, no matter how hard she tried. It had been way too long and he felt way too good. Her own hand slid into his boxers where she found his member hard and throbbing. She wrapped her hand around him and immediately pumped it up and down along his shaft at a steady pace. She knew he liked it when the movements of his hand inside of her got harder and faster. Their kiss became sloppy and eventually their lips broke contact when their panting increased. They pressed their foreheads together as their hands picked up speed. They forced themselves to be quiet, only erratic breathing and low moans and groans could be heard.

Daryl felt his orgasm approach at lightning speed and he tried to hold back. He knew once he came his hand would stop involuntarily and Nova would be left waiting. He curled his fingers and pressed them against her front wall while he moved them roughly back and forth, hoping the trick would work on her, because he just wasn't able to hold back any longer.

"Oh fuck!" Nova moaned loudly when he expertly rubbed her g-spot and she came like a freaking freight train, clamping down on his fingers hard as the orgasm shook the hell out of her body. Her hand tightened around Daryl's erection and it was the last push for him to follow her over the edge. He grit his teeth hard and held his breath when he spurted over her belly and her hand that was still pumping him slowly. He withdrew his hand from inside her and used it to stop her hand from moving on his over-sensitized member.

Nova fell on her back and stared at the ceiling out of breath while Daryl quickly tucked himself back into his boxers and pulled his pants up, but left them open.

"See, I knew you'd damn near get my head to explode... I don't even know what to say." Nova tried to catch her breath and gather her bearings.

Neither did Daryl, but when he wanted to put his hand on her belly he noticed the mess he'd made and quickly grabbed her shirt off the floor and wiped her clean. She took it from him and also cleaned her hand before the shirt was discarded again and she pulled the blanket over her cooling body.

"You a cuddler? 'Cause I'm not, sorry." She looked over at him while he gently stroked her belly under the blanket, not sure if he wanted to cuddle or not.

"Nah, I'm fine either way. Don't have ta snuggle up or anythin'." he said while he traced invisible patterns on her skin.

"Good. Sometimes I like it, but most of the time I can't stand the heat. I like it a little cooler."

"Georgia musta been a great place for ya to live in then." he chuckled sleepily.

"Yeah. Always hated the heat. Was hard to get used to it again after coming back from Europe." she smiled and now rolled back on her side to face him. Her hand went to his face, cradling his jaw and stroking his bottom lip gently. "I really liked that. What we did just now."

He nodded mutely, before he let out a quiet. "Me too."

"You don't have to be embarrassed or shy with me, Daryl. I want you. I wanna make you enjoy yourself and feel good. I'll do whatever it takes for you to be comfortable around me. You'll just have to tell me. Or show me. I can't read minds all the time. Okay?"

"'kay." he nodded and Nova smiled.

"You're biting that lip again. Damn you. I'm tired and now you made me horny again." She grinned and moved back towards him and kissed him softly and deeply, before moving her mouth down his neck, fully intent on leaving a mark on her own on him.

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**AN: Cliffhanger, I'm evil. Sorry, I haven't updated in a couple of days and I wanted to give you guys a little something. I've had a rough week and it doesn't look like it's letting up, so I am a little short on time. Also my kid has started to sleep over an hour less during nap time, therefore my writing time got seriously reduced and chapters might take longer to get completed than you are used to from my stories. Just a heads up.**

**Hope everybody is doing well. I will probably start to thank you guys in PMs instead of at the end of each chapter, for the sole reason that it saves me some time I can use to write a little more;-) Hope that's okay with you guys.**

**Special thank you to:**

**DarylDixon'sLover**

**InaIsinvisible**

**mamareadstomuch2**

**xamss**

**jeanf**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Daryl knew he should be reasonable and tell her to stop and go to sleep, so she'd be fit and alert on her run the next day, but he was enjoying himself too much to put an end to this. Nobody had ever given him a hickey before. Bite marks and scratches, sure, he'd had those on occasion, but nobody has ever sucked on his neck like a sexy little vampire like Nova was doing right now. She was alternating between little bites, teasing licks and hard suction and the sensations were shooting right to his dick, rapidly making it stir again in his boxers. As much as he had rebelled against being owned by somebody, he now had to admit to himself that her giving him a mark, claiming him as her own, was pretty damn hot and causing all kinds of weird feelings inside of him. The thought occurred to him that he had never gotten a hickey, because he'd never allowed any girl to do this to him. Nova was the first and for all the shit he'd given her about being nobody's property, now he was all kinds of happy to let her do this. It just felt too fucking good.

"Feeling okay?" Nova murmured against the now purple colored skin of his neck when she finished marking him.

"Yeah. Ain't gotta make sure every five seconds. I'm good, 'kay? Was just... 's been a long time. Had ta get ma head back in the game first, ya know?"

"I get it. Sorry, I guess me being kinda sexually aggressive didn't really help with that." She apologized with a sheepish smile. She knew sexually aggressive was an exaggeration, but she just didn't know how else to call it. She just knew what she wanted and what she needed in order to enjoy herself and she just wanted Daryl to be a happy costumer as well. She just wasn't used to this. Her boyfriends used to like when she initiated sex and she had always had a great and open dialogue with them where fantasies and predilections and things like that were concerned. Sure, it had been a little awkward at first, but in the end it lead to some awesome experiences in the bedroom. Daryl was an enigma and obviously not a talker. They would have to figure something out to accommodate both their needs of talking and not talking.

"Ya weren't. You're just different. Ain't ever got nobody askin' me in bed what I wanted. Ain't ever had ta talk about what I liked. It's weird."

"It is. I felt the same way the first couple of times I talked to a guy about it. Takes trust. It's okay if you're not there yet. I'm not offended. Take your time." She smiled and nipped his jaw. "There are other ways to find out what you like anyway." She grinned with a wink before she pulled away from him and sat up to put on her underwear, because she had to use the bathroom.

"Be right back." She told him when she walked towards the door. She was dressed in just her panties and bra when she left the room, but Daryl didn't even notice, his thoughts had already drifted off.

He knew he'd acted like a major pussy. Every guy in the world would laugh until they cried if they would know how he'd clammed up when she had wanted to help him out with a handjob. He didn't know what was wrong with him, he had never been this weird about sex before. He wasn't ashamed of his body or stupid shit like that, not a couple years back when he'd been a little heavier and certainly not now that the scarceness of food had turned him into a lean and mean machine. He'd never had any trouble letting his fuck buddies blow him or jerk him off, so why was he acting like a little virgin with Nova?

He was a goddamn man through and through and he would make sure to show her next chance he got. He survived getting thrown off a horse, falling down a ravine, getting impaled by his own bolt, falling down again trying to climb back up and then getting shot in the head. If he was able to shrug all of that off like it was nothing, he could damn well answer her questions or let her have her way with him. So what if she might not like the way he moaned or thought his orgasm face was silly? She sure wouldn't be bitch enough to laugh at him or tell him that to his face. He felt stupid for even thinking about stuff like that, but then he realized that those things might have been what had made him freeze. He cared what she thought about him. That's why he was so damn insecure.

"Damn fucking Christ, could I be more of a fucking pussy?" he berated himself quietly and pinched the bridge of his nose while he squeezed his eyes shut, wincing at his own stupidity. He came back to reality when he heard Danny's voice outside the open door.

"Making out with a Dirt Devil, are we?" Daryl heard the smirk in Danny's voice.

"In a way that is actually extremely accurate." Daryl heard Nova laugh before she came back into the room and closed the door. That's when Daryl realized how little she was wearing.

"You were out there like that? And Sasquatch saw ya?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yup." She nodded and laid back down next to him. She saw his frown deepen and sighed. "Look, what is the big deal about people seeing me in my underwear? Whenever I went to a beach I wore a bikini that covered even less than my underwear and tons of people saw me and nobody even thinks twice about that shit. Just because it's labeled underwear it's not okay to wear it out there even though it covers more than a bikini?"

"Fine, ya got a point there, but we got kids around."

"And again, at the beach there are tons of kids that see tons of people running around in very little clothing."

"I don't like it, 'kay? I don't fucking share. Don't want nobody else seeing you like that. Especially not Sasquatch. And I reckon Rick won't appreciate you running around like that in front of his kids."

"Well then Rick can kiss my barely covered ass." Nova said with a shrug, but then laughed when she saw Daryl growing more exasperated by the second. "Relax. I'm not saying that I'll be taking orders from you, but if you really have a problem with it, I'll agree to not do it again. Deal?"

"I have a problem with it." Daryl growled.

"Fine. Then I'll stop." She promised and kissed him. "You're hot when you're angry."

"Stop. Better watch it. Already told ya that ya don't want me angry at ya for real." He told her, but his voice didn't hold any gruffness, instead a little smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"I know. Won't let it get that far, I'm not stupid." She snuggled under the covers, ready to go to sleep. It was already really late and she had that supply run the next day. She knew she was very probably asking for trouble, but she couldn't resist. "Gonna kiss me good night?"

"Should I put ma shirt on first?" He asked with a smirk. He could be as shy as he wanted, but the damn bastard still knew what he was doing to her.

"I guess it would be better, but I don't want you to. Come here."

Daryl rolled over and held her face in his hand while he pressed his mouth on hers. Their tongues roamed along each other lazily and Nova firmly kept her hands resting on his shoulder blades. She knew that if she let them trail along his body she wouldn't get to sleep any time soon. After a couple of minutes she forced herself to pull away and after a last chaste kiss on the lips she turned her back on him and wished him a good night. She fell asleep to the feeling of Daryl gently tracing the lines of her tattoo with his fingertips.

###### ###### ###### ###### ####### ######

The next morning Nova and Daryl got some curious glances when the group noticed their hickeys. Amused smirks and glances were exchanged, but nobody dared say anything about it, because they knew that the wrath of the hunter would be devastating. In the end they were all happy for him that he finally got some lovin'.

Nova noticed Carol eying her neck with an unreadable expression. She had given Nova and Daryl her blessing, but Nova was sure this still couldn't be easy for the woman. Carol saw Nova look at her with a worried expression and walked up to her with a smile and handed her some breakfast.

"Don't worry about me. I can handle it. I'm just glad that he is letting you in." Carol reassured Nova, before she turned around and went back to handing out breakfast to the others. Nova just nodded at Carol's retreating back. Nova looked around the room then and saw Beth and Maggie sitting on the couch with her boyfriend Glenn and decided to join them. Now that she was getting used to having more people around again, she couldn't wait to get to know everybody.

"Hey, mind if I sit with y'all?" She smiled at the small group and Beth immediately scooted closer to Maggie to make room for Nova.

"Sure, come on, have a seat." Beth was grinning and her eyes kept flicking down to look at the mark on her neck. "It's so funny to think that Daryl gave that to you."

"What? Why?" Nova was still confused over the fact that all the prison women were so stunned by Daryl showing affection to somebody.

Maggie shook her head laughing. "If you would have known him before, you would know why. I didn't think I'd ever see him have a girlfriend. He was always this kind of nonsexual person, it's hard to explain. He just never really got close or expressed interest in anyone before. So for us it is really weird that you two got something going on now."

"I think it's sweet." Beth smiled. "You should have seen him at the bunker. I knew right away that he liked her. He was jealous of Danny and Paul. Every time they hugged Nova he had this look on his face and how he worried about her,... it was different from how he worries about any of us. It's really cute."

"So we got you to thank for him turning back into a crabby bastard when you left the farm, huh?" Glenn smiled at her, to which Nova laughed.

"Well I wouldn't have left if he wouldn't have told me to leave, so in a way you have to blame the man himself."

"Yeaaah, better not. Don't feel like getting my head ripped off." Glenn shuddered and continued eating his oatmeal.

"Is he really that bad?" Nova asked curiously.

"He can be. It's not pretty when he goes off at you. Thank God he's mellowed out a lot." Maggie said and before Nova could ask them more about Daryl, Michonne called out for her. She and Danny were ready to leave.

"Okay, gotta go. See y'all later." Nova got up and walked towards the stairs. "Let me just get my things." she said to Michonne in passing and leaped up the stairs to get her backpack and weapons from her room. She had wanted to say bye to Daryl, but he was nowhere to be seen, so she'd have to leave without a kiss goodbye. She strapped on her axe and knives and left with Danny and Michonne shortly after.

####### ###### ####### ###### ######## #######

Their supply run took a lot of time. Not only did they look for food and other necessities, but they also looked for cars and enough gas to last them a while. Washington wasn't far, just a couple of hours away, but only if the roads were clear and these days you couldn't count on that. So many herds had been forming, sometimes Nova thought that the entire American population had come to the south. They needed cars like minivans so they would be able to fit everybody and everything and to find three of them that were usable hadn't been easy.

Back at the house Rick and Daryl had grown anxious as the afternoon went by and the sun started to set. There was never any guarantee that people who left for a run would come back, so when the cars stopped in front of the house and Nova, Danny and Michonne got out, everybody breathed a collective sigh of relief. He, Tyreese and Daryl went to help them carry the supplies inside, it was too dangerous to leave them in the cars, you never knew who would come by and rob them blind.

"What took so long?" Daryl asked gruffly when he went with Nova to the back of one of the cars.

"Well hello, lover. I've missed you, too." She shot back sarcastically with an arched eyebrow and Daryl apologized halfheartedly.

"Sorry. Just got worried. Said y'all would be back soon."

"Yeah, that was the plan, but it wasn't easy to find cars we could use. And unfortunately there are no more cell phones so I couldn't text you that we'd be late."

"Damn things were never good for anything anyway." He grumbled. Daryl had always hated phones. Especially when people started taking their fucking cells with them into the woods during a hunt and he'd lost some great game due to their fucking phones ringing or beeping or playing music or some shit like that. One good thing about this world was that he no longer had to put up with that crap.

Nova just rolled her eyes, not feeling like dealing with his crappy mood. She understood that he'd been worried, but there was nothing she could have done to let him know that they would need more time and now it was too late to go back and change anything. He'd just have to get over it and get rid of whatever crawled up his ass and died.

After sorting the supplies they got everything packed and ready for leaving the next morning. They had some more rabbit stew for dinner and as soon as she was finished Nova excused herself. She wanted to take the last decent shower for who knew how long and then just enjoy the comfort of a bed, not knowing when she'll have that again either. When she returned to her room she was amused as well as a little indignant over the fact that Daryl was already laying in her bed. Shirtless from the looks of it. She must have slept through the part of extending an invitation to stay the night, she thought, but it wasn't like she minded. It was kind of funny that he was so shy one night and then so presumptuous the next.

Daryl bit his lip while his gaze swept over her towel-clad body and she just shook her head with a chuckle and dropped the towel before she climbed into bed to join him under the covers.

"Ya really ain't got no shame, do ya?" he smirked.

"No. Why should I? It's just a body." she grinned and let her hands glide over his naked chest and down over his belly until she felt the waistband of his boxers. What a pity.

"Nah, ain't just a body. It's a damn pretty one."

"So is yours. So why am I the only one that's completely naked?" She grinned and kissed him, pulling his bottom lip between both of hers and sucking on it gently. Then she froze and quickly pulled away.

"Shit, I'm so sorry. I'm doing it again, I don't know what's wrong with me." She apologized profusely while shame overcame her. She didn't know what she was thinking. Since when was she this sexually aggressive? Instead of letting him come to her she was pushing herself on him again. Fucking naked this time. Seems like she had a harder time dealing with him being different from other guys in that department than she initially thought. Her ex-boyfriends would have been balls deep inside of her by now, but not Daryl. She moved to put some distance between them to give Daryl his space, but he quickly put his arm over her belly and gripped her waist.

"Shut up." he rasped and pressed his lips to hers. This was their last night in this safe house and in this bed, they should make some use of it before they might have to share close quarters with the others for some time, he thought. What they did last night had been the hottest sex he'd ever had and they hadn't even fucked. He might be on the shy side, but he was still a man with urges and he hadn't been able to stop thinking about going all the way this time. He wanted it badly and he was sure so did Nova. There was just one little problem with his plan.

"Got a rubber?" he asked in between nipping along her jaw, desperately hoping she had some. He'd searched the bathroom in the hopes of finding some earlier, but there hadn't been anything there.

"No." He sighed with disappointment, ready to pull away and put some distance between them again, but then his hope flared up again when she continued. "But we don't need them. I got an IUD. We're good to go for the next 3 years or so."

That was music to his ears. No need to scavenge every store for fucking condoms for as long as they lived and wanted to bang.

"Good ta know." he smiled and moved his lips back to her mouth and kissed her softly. His tongue teased her lips open before it pushed in swirled around her tongue. Daryl's fingertips sensually tickled her when he moved them from her waist up to her chest, drawing circles around her breasts in a figure-eight. Those circles got smaller and smaller the closer he got to her nipples. She was already shivering by the time his fingertips brushed over her sensitive nipples and when they hardened under his touch she visibly shuddered from the sensation.

Daryl's lips wandered from her mouth down her neck, leaving soft little butterfly kisses on her skin. His hand now focused on her left breast, drawing circles around it again, while his lips kissed every single inch of the full mound on the right side of her body, except for her nipple. Nova enjoyed his gentle ministrations very much, the longer he did it, the more grew her arousal and the urge to have him touch her nipples again, but he kept avoiding them. When he brought his tongue into play and let the tip lick little lines around her areolas she started to squirm and grip his hair to try to get his mouth to where she wanted it, but Daryl was having none of it. He just chuckled and with a gentle grip removed her hand from his hair. He kissed her palm softly, giving it a cheeky little lick that had her gasping because she felt that go right to her clit.

The hunter left her breasts and had his mouth trail over her belly. His tongue dipped into her belly button before he nipped at the soft flesh underneath, while his hand pushed the blanket away from their bodies. Once it was pushed to the foot of the bed Daryl knelt up and scooted further down on the bed. He grasped her ankle and lifted her leg up to his mouth. While he settled himself between her legs on his knees he nipped at the inside of her ankle and then licked a long line from her ankle, over her shin up to the inside of her knee and stopped with another little bite, that had all air whooshing out of her lungs with a loud gasp. He repeated it on her other leg and all Nova could do was watch him, panting like she had run a marathon and grasping the sheets in her hands in a hard grip. He looked so sinfully sexy doing those things to her it was ridiculous. Nobody should look this good, he seriously was sex on legs. Nova just didn't know what to think anymore. She always thought she was a good jugde of character and good at figuring people out, but Daryl was just such a damn mystery. Never in a million years had she ever thought he would be this freaking attentive and gentle, it was just blowing her mind. He just stunned and surprised her on so many levels, she thought she would just have to give up trying to figure him out and just let herself be surprised.

Her breath hitched when his tongue traveled up the inside of her thigh, the rush of anticipation she experienced in that moment made some more liquid pool between her legs. She was so ready for him to make her cum, she could barely wait. Just a little longer, almost there,... yes, almost,... so close now, she could feel his breath... She groaned out loud when she felt his soft hot lips on her pussy. He placed soft kisses along her slit, upwards towards her clit, barely using any pressure. She felt him lay down on his front, her thighs settling against his broad shoulders. She stopped breathing altogether when she felt his lips just underneath her clit. Now, now, now... she thought, but the sensation she was waiting for never came. Instead he pressed his scruffy chin into the soft skin right at the top of her slit, settling it there comfortable and looking up at her, while he pressed it a little harder against her and moved it a bit, while his hands slowly trailed back up her belly towards her chest.

Nova could barely stand to look at him. The sight of him between her legs and those beautiful blue orbs staring back at her was too much to take. He was driving her crazy. His chin was doing weird things to her. It was like it was massaging her clit, but on a different level. It was a weird, soft, tingly sensation he was causing by pressing it into that place. She was so distracted by it, that she didn't even notice his hands cupping her breasts and she moaned in surprise and pleasure, when his thumbs rubbed over her stiff nipples. She hadn't been lying when she had told him they were sensitive, she was very responsive when they were touched and Daryl had done an excellent job at making them even more sensitive with his teasing touches earlier. Her hips bucked up, pressing Daryl's chin against her even harder, sending tingles to her clit. He smiled slightly and enjoyed his view while he started to roll her nipples between his fingers. She was undulating her hips and arching her back, her lips parted while she was gasping and moaning. Daryl's own arousal skyrocketed from watching her enjoy herself like that, knowing that it was his doing and his own hips started moving, getting some friction from rubbing his erection against the bedding.

His fingers alternated between lightly pinching, gentle rolling and soft tugs and Nova didn't know if she was in heaven or in hell. She was right at the edge, she felt like she would cum any second, but she didn't. She stayed stuck in that moment right before orgasm and it became torture.

"Daryl, please. I beg you. You're killing me. Make me cum. I need more." She moaned and clawed at his hands desperately. Daryl groaned when he heard her beg and finally moved his head and pushed his tongue between her pussy lips, seeking out her clit. She let him know that he had found it by releasing a little shout of relief, her whole body shaking hard when he started tonguing and sucking it. Just a minute of him going down on her was all it took to finally push her over the edge.

"OH FUCK DARYL!" She yelled, not caring who heard when her body was wracked by an intense orgasm, a tear spilling out of the corner of each eye. She had barely rode it out when she grabbed his head and pulled him up. She kissed him passionately, their tongues dueling for a moment and she moaned when she tasted herself on his tongue.

"Fuck me!" She breathed against his lips and Daryl didn't waste any time in obeying, his erection was throbbing almost painfully by now. He pushed down his boxers and grasped his cock and pumped his hand up and down twice to relieve some of the uncomfortable pressure while he guided himself to her opening. He slowly pushed in and his eyes fell shut as the heavenly feeling of being surrounded by her hot, wet walls consumed him. They were still fluttering a little from her hard orgasm and he found himself almost unable to go slow now, it was just too much. Thank God she didn't want slow. When he tried it she quickly grabbed his buttocks and pulled him back into her a little harder.

"God no, no teasing now, please. Take what you need." She panted, giving him permission to set the pace and do what he liked. Daryl positioned her legs high up around his waist and pushed his hands underneath her back and held on to her shoulders. He hid his face in the crook of her neck when he started thrusting deeply into her, letting out the occasional groan and grunt against her skin while he pounded into her. Nova slid her hand into his hair at the back of his head and held him close. She knew she wouldn't come again, she never came from just penetration, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it immensely. He felt damn good and he smelled heavenly. Not like some kind of cologne or soap or anything, no his smell was absolutely primal and masculine and quite an aphrodisiac to her.

She enjoyed the feeling of him thrusting into her and having him close. Her free hand raked her nails over his back and ass gently while he fucked her and her lips and teeth nibbled on his earlobe in between breathless whispers.

"You feel so goddamn good, Daryl. I can't get enough of you. You're so good. Wanna feel you cum inside of me, baby."

Her ministration and quiet moans in his ear were spurring him on and he picked up the pace. He groaned when she pulled on his hair a little, for some reason he had always loved when girls had done that to him.

"'M close." he panted and Nova grinned against his ear before she pulled on his hair again and let her hand slip down further and pressed a finger into the spot behind his balls, making fireworks explode behind Daryl's closed eyelids.

"Ooooh fuck, Nov..." Daryl groaned with his voice a little higher than usual when he came. The grip he had on her shoulders tightened and she knew she'd have bruises, but she didn't care, it was worth it. His hips lost their rhythm and he continued to thrust into her haphazardly a couple of times, before he pulled out and slumped on top of her completely spent. Nova smiled contentedly and gently stroked her hands through his hair and over his back while they calmed down. She grew wistful when she remembered they would have to leave in just a couple of hours. She would very much love to just stay a little while longer and have fun with Daryl instead of fighting for their lives.

Daryl finally looked up and kissed her deeply and hugged her close. "Ya didn't finish." he whispered quietly against her lips and she smiled.

"No, I didn't and that's very okay. You made me cum before and that was so good I don't think I'd even have a second one in me." she reassured him. "It's not always about cumming anyway."

"It ain't?" he looked at her with a confused frown.

"I know men think differently about that." she laughed. "And I do get frustrated too when a guy can't make me cum ever, I'll admit that, but usually when the sex is good and the relationship is good, it's nice to just feel the other and be close and touch every once in a while, so don't worry."

"'Kay." he nodded and then carefully disentangled himself from her and laid next to her, knowing she disliked cuddling. Nova was grateful for the cooling sensation that settled itself over her body after he had moved off of her, but she wasn't ready to completely disconnect yet, so she rolled over to lay on her side and pulled his hand to her lips, kissing every fingertip of his softly.

"Think we'll find this sanctuary?"

"Yeah. Rick's a good leader. He has his faults, but he's gotten us this far. He'll get us to that sanctuary." Daryl said and reached for the cigarettes on the nightstand with his free hand. He lit one and took a drag before he held it against Nova's lips.

"Even if we don't, we can come back here. Boarded the place up good, it's a good place to stay with the park around. Lots of animals and fish and berries and stuff. Shit, maybe we shouldn't even leave at all." she sighed while she blew out the smoke, suddenly unsure of her decision to go to Washington with the group.

"We have to try and see if there's anything better out there. Like ya said, if there ain't, then we can come back here. Ain't that far from Washington." Daryl was getting the dreadful feeling that she would change her mind at the last minute.

"Yeah..." Nova trailed off. Were they crazy to go? What if there wasn't anything good out there and when they came back somebody else had taken this house for themselves? She hated being out there, but she would do it for Daryl. She knew what it was like to be without him and back then they had only shared a single kiss. Now they were lovers and she knew it would devastate her to let him go without her and she knew he would never leave the group, especially not Rick, those two were tight. Bros before hos.

She tried to calm herself down by telling herself that they were a big group now and that they had cars and enough supplies and that she just had some jitters about leaving this place behind, but deep deep down, the question if she had made the right choice began to nag at her.

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**AN: Thank you for reading, following and favoriting. And the Nova/Daryl smut-train keeps on rollin', but hey, they had to take that opportunity, right?**

**I am sorry for being so slow lately, but I am having some health issues. Basically I have stupid headaches every day and looking at the screen just hurts, so I don't get to write very much these days. I hope it will get better soon.**

**Thank you for your reviews guys. Always nice to hear from you. See y'all later.**


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